


Solomon's Child

by serioushugsies



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: AU, Action/Adventure, F/M, Fantasy, Hurt/Comfort, OC, Re-upload
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-06-12 21:57:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 292,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15349617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serioushugsies/pseuds/serioushugsies
Summary: Natsu had no idea that when he met the strange elemental summoner in Hargeon that she would be one of the most important people in his life one day. or that though her he would be reunited with his long lost foster father.But when the time comes and she must pass through the gate will Natsu manage to save her? Or will he lose her forever? (Fairy Tail retelling with altered plot.)





	1. Chapter 1

Lucy walked down the pier with a slight pout on her face, one of her hands tucking her blonde hair behind an ear in order to keep the strands out of her view. under normal circumstances she would have loved to see the ocean view, as she had almost never seen its bright blue waters in her childhood, but with the situation being what it was she couldn't help but feel annoyance over the situation. If only she had managed to locate at least some information on the "Salamander" that she had come to the port city in order to find she would have been able to take her time and enjoy the sight of ships coming and going from the bay but as things stood now she would be forced to abandon this lead, as the trail was growing colder each and every day.

Lucy sighed once more before turning back to the city proper, her white sundress billowing in the ocean breeze. While the person herself wasn't aware of it, she was drawing quite a large amount of attention from the sailors and fishermen that walked past her. With her waist length golden blonde hair, her slightly pale unblemished skin, and above average bust size she ended drawing more than her fair share of leers. But luckily for her not a single man would dare to approach her due to two specific items on her person that would make anyone wary.

On her back was an impressive looking longbow,swirl-like patterns carved along its length. but strangely enough there was no quiver anywhere on the girls body, most likely to think that she was simply too ditsy to remember arrows but those with a more magical oriented background would realize that the bow was likely a magical weapon of some sort.

On her right arm she wore a silver bracer that was even more impressive piece of magical equipment than the one that was strapped to her back. The silver gleamed in the mid day sunlight, speaking volumes of how well cared for the piece of armor was. Carved on its surface were various depictions of nature's elements. A flame, a bolt of thunder, a tornado, a ocean wave, a ray of light, a orb of darkness, and a jagged rock respectfully. Next to each carving was a circular indent that was clearly meant to hold some sort of lacrima but only four of the indents held such gems. A red orb next to the flame, a blue orb alongside the wave, a brown orb close to the rock, and finally a green orb next to the tornado. Each orb glowed faintly from within, making a casual onlooker think they were simple lacrima when they were so much more.

Lucy stared down at the wind orb as she thought back to earlier that week when she had obtained it. The elderly woman who had explained that she was its guardian had broken out into sobs when Lucy presented her with the Bracer, marking her as a worthy summoner. And after paying a hefty but ultimately inconsequential sum of Jewels the elder handed the stone over and waved as Lucy left, thanking the blonde for finally completing her families duty.

"It's a shame though that no Elemental has made itself known to me yet. Water and earth had already sent lesser spirits to my side after this long when I got them." Lucy mused out loud, the blue and brown orbs glowing brighter as she mentioned them. "...But now I must make a choice, this Salamander has been particularly subtle these last few days compared to the rumors that spoke about him. And if i cannot find him soon...then I might have to just take a ship to Bosco." Lucy thought out loud as she stared up into the sky, watching as a few seagulls flew lazily on the ocean breeze.

For the past two years of Lucy's life she had been searching for any mention of strange creatures or rumors pertaining to them, pursuing them with a single minded determination that most would find strange. Most of the time the rumors lead nowhere or simply leading to those with less than noble intentions. But as this mission was her mothers last request she couldn't exactly ignore any leads she got no matter how far-fetched they seemed, hence her presence in Hargeon.

"Perhaps I should simply move on…" Lucy murmured sadly as she stared out at the sea, thinking of the ocean based country she had no interest in seeing. But before she could come to a conclusion two women screaming drew her attention, Lucy's eyes quickly finding the squealing women in question as they rushed deeper into the town.

"Did you hear? The Salamander is in town!" one of the girls squealed in delight.

"I did! They say he's a very famous wizard!" the other shouted as the two ran past a building, vanishing from sight.

_The Salamanders just out in the open and pretending to be a famous mage? What would they gain from_  that?  _And why would they come out into the open now after all this time?_ Lucy questioned as she followed after the two girls, curious if this Salamander was the one she was looking for.

Lucy followed the two girls from a distance for a while before realizing that she could simply track their destination by the sounds of all hysterical when the screaming finally reached a fever pitch Lucy finally found what appeared to be every young girl in the town along with a very unimpressive looking man in the center of the crowd that had formed. The man wore a cape that he swirled continuously around himself as he struck various poses, causing the surrounding woman to squeal in delight each and every time he did so. Lucy however couldn't see anything even remotely impressive about the man, not his looks nor his magic.

_Is this really a Salamander?_ Lucy questioned as she continued to stare passively at the man as he turned to look at her, smiling strangely and brandishing on of his hands. It was then that her eyes went wide in fear as she realized what exactly was happening. The man was using a charm ring to enthrall the nearby woman, something that Lucy was easily able to shrug off as his level of magical energy was simply too weak to effect her. but that wasn't the issue that had caused panic to begin taking hold in her heart.

"It" had noticed the foreign magic attempting to infiltrate her mind and had already begun to assess the threat, it's cold and calculating thoughts beginning to formulate an attack strategy.

_No...NO! I can't let it take control over something so menial!_  Lucy panicked as she tried desperately to suppress "It", even though she knew "It" was only taking action to prevent her from being harmed in any way. That was its purpose after all.

Luckily, aid came from an unexpected source when a pink haired boy pushed his way through the crowd with a happy grin on his face, smiling brightly at the purple haired man.

"Igneel is it really you?" He shouted out as he looked at the man with the charm ring, who stared back at the boy with a confused look on his face and therefor had his concentration broken. Even if the boy didn't know it, his timely entrance was just the distraction Lucy needed to remain in control, as "It" instantly turned its attention away from the charm ring man to focus on the newcomer for a second before deciding he was no threat and returning to general area threat assessment.

"Oh thank the gods…" Lucy breathed a sigh of relief as the horde of woman mercilessly attacked the pink haired man, who had apparently offended the charm wearer in some way and incited the crowd's wrath before they began to dissipate.

Lucy approached the boy, who was still sitting and glaring at the man who flew away using his pinkish flames. "Who the Hell was that?" he questioned to the blue cat that Lucy had just noticed standing alongside the pink haired boy, a cat that was standing on two legs and talking back to the boy. something that Lucy considered a curious sight but otherwise didn't bother her at all.

"The crowd referred to him as the "Salamander"...although I can't confirm or deny that claim at this time." Lucy commented, drawing the boy's and the cat's curious gazes. "Hello, my name is Lucy. Would you two like to join me for lunch?" Lucy introduced herself and asked with a formal curtsy, only causing the two to stare at her with an even stranger gaze before smiling brightly.

"Sure, why not. But why invite us? Or is do ya just do this for everybody?" The boy asked as he accepted Lucy's outstretched hand, the blonde pulling him to his feet in a single motion.

"You helped me out just now, and my mother always said I should repay those who help me." Lucy explained as she began to move to the nearest restaurant, the two boys quickly following her.

"Wow ,you're really nice lady...even if you are a weirdo!" The cat declared with a snicker as he walked alongside them.

Lucy tilted her head in confusion, not really sure what she had done to warrant being called weird, but decided not to draw attention to the strange statement. "So what are your names?If you don't mind me asking."

"I'm Natsu, and the blue feline here is Happy." The boy introduced himself before pointing at the once snickering cat, who was now pouting about the fact that Lucy had simply ignored his jab.

The three eventually reached a family dinner and settled into a booth, Lucy informing them that the two could order whatever they wanted as she would be paying the bill, something that caused tears of happiness to flow from their eyes. The moment the waitress approached them the two ordered two of everything containing meat on the menu, digging into the food like animals the moment it arrived.

_Well one of them is an animal so I guess its fine to eat like that._ Lucy thought to herself as she carefully dodged bits of flying food. "So what brings you two mages to Hargeon? Are you here on a job or something similar?" Lucy questioned in between bites of her own meager meal.

Natsu stopped devouring his food to stare at her, a strange look on his face. "Wait...how'd ya know we're mages?"

"I can detect magic to a certain degree, and I can feel plenty from you two, far more than any non mage could have." Lucy explained as she sipped her tea. "But you didn't answer my question."

"Oh, 're here looking for Igneel and thought that it might be that Salamander guy, but it doesn't look like it is." Happy explained as he devoured another fish.

"Ya that guy didn't even look like a dragon at all. I bet he can't even breathe fire or fly." Natsu grumbled to himself as he crossed his arms in disappointment.

"Indeed, I was disappointed in him myself." Lucy agreed before what Natsu said finally registered. "…Wait, are you looking for someone who looks like a dragon?"

"No nothing like that, Igneel is a dragon." Natsu explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world, Happy nodding in agreement.

Lucy's eyes went wide and she blinked slowly in surprise.  _That was a shock; I didn't think they would be searching for dragons too...But I can't be sure of their motives so I can't exactly share information with them as of now._  Lucy instantly stood and, after placing a hefty sum of Jewel on the table, began to walk away. Now wary of the two possible foes. "Well it was nice to meet you, Natsu and Happy. I hope you find the person you're looking for."

Lucy was beginning to make her way to the restaurants exit but stopped when the waitress to her side made a strange noise at something behind her back, causing Lucy to turn around and find that both Happy and Natsu were now on the ground, their heads lowered to the ground in reverence.

"Thank you very much for the food!" The two shouted out with barely contained emotion coloring their voice.

Lucy blinked in surprise once again as she stared at the two, remembering after a second to smile diplomatically. "It's fine. Like I said, you helped me so I helped you. Well then, until next time." And with a wave Lucy walked out of the door and back into the sunlight.

Lucy eventually made her way to a nearby park where she sat down and pulled a map of Fiore from the bag at her side, all but glaring at the various red X's that dotted the map. this piece of paper represented the last few years of her life and all the failures that had accumulated in the course of her mission. She may have managed to learn some things, as noted by a few circled areas, but otherwise she had come up empty at nearly every turn and now Hargeon joined her many failures.

_I would have liked to ask why their looking for the dragons too, but i doubt i would have been able to secure such information without alerting them. Mom did warn me about trusting my information with those who are unrelated to it... But oh well, at least I can be decently sure that there are no dragons present in Hargeon as of now._

"Excuse me miss, but I've been looking for you." A vaguely familiar voice pulled Lucy from her thoughts. Looking up, Lucy was met with the sight of the charm holder man standing right before her, staring down at her with an arrogant smile.

"Yes? Is there something I can do for you?" Lucy questioned passively as she lowered the map, "It" no longer even registering the man's magic as a threat and therefore Lucy herself deciding that he could do her no harm.

"Well, I would like to personally invite you to a party upon my private yacht as you are quite clearly the most beautiful flower in this town I would be saddened if I failed to obtain your presence at the party." The man said as he waved the hand that held the charm ring right in front of Lucy's face. He was clearly trying to get the charm spell to affect her mind once again but apparently hadn't realized that she was already aware of its existence and therefore unable to be effected by it.

Lucy frowned as she weighed her options. She was fairly sure that the man was no dragon in disguise as she initially believed him to be, but at the same time she couldn't just outright dismiss the possibility that he was simply hiding his strength from others and that this was his invitation to discuss the truth of his situation with her.

_Oh well, even if it turns out to be false information again it's not like he or any of his associates could harm me even if they tried._ Lucy finally decided as she smiled at the man. "Of course, I would be honored to be at the party of such a famous mage such as yourself."

The man chuckled, clearly believing that his charm had worked its magic. "Good my dear, then I shall be expecting you tonight. Until then!" the man said and with a wave of his hand and a burst of flames flew off into the sky.

"Oh well, might as well get prepared for tonight I guess." Lucy said with a shrug as she started to make her way to the hotel she had been using as a home base for the last few days, not all that hopeful that the coming night would bring anything but more disappointment.

* * *

When the night finally arrived Lucy couldn't help but grimace at the sight of the yacht that the party was being held in, growing even paler than she was normally as she noticed it rocking back and forth. Two of the man's attendants, looking far too thuggish for such a party, informed her that the man was waiting for her down below decks and that they would be casting off momentarily, Lucy internally grimacing but smiling and nodding.

When Lucy arrived down below the deck she found the man sitting at a table, two glasses of champagne sitting on the table and making his intentions clearly known. "Ah, welcome Milady. Would you like to partake of some refreshment before the party begins?"

Lucy flinched at the thought of drinking anything with her seasickness already begin to upset her stomach but she didn't wish to upset the possible dragon by refusing. "Thank you, I would love to." She replied as she sat down opposite the man and sipped on her drink. Almost instantly noticing the sleeping magic placed on the drink but neither Lucy herself or "It" reacting to it, its strength not nearly enough to dull her senses in the slightest.

Lucy waited for a moment before looking at the man with a disbelieving gaze, her eyes narrowing and her magical energy swelling in mild anger. "So then, would you like to explain why you have tried to drug me?"

The Man Smirked arrogantly as he rose to his feet. "Ah, as I believed you truly are a powerful mage. All the more reason for me to kidnap you then I suppose." He chuckled and with a snap of his fingers called his henchmen in, each carrying an unconscious woman. "I regret to inform you that this is my slave ship, and you are one of my newly acquired if you would be so kind as to remain quiet as we brand you and imprison you I would be grateful."

Lucy simply stared disappointingly at the man, a long sigh escaping her lips as she stood. "Well I did suspect this would happen, but this is still disappointing." And Lucy raised her right arm in preparation for magic.

For a second neither side moved, each waiting for the other to attack first before engaging in combat. But before either could attack the ceiling exploded in a shower of wooden shrapnel, revealing a angry pink haired boy and a blue cat who jumped down into the room.

Lucy instantly recognized the man as the mage she had shared a lunch with earlier that day, her recognition doing nothing to lessen her confusion. "Natsu? What are you doing here?" Lucy questioned as she looked between the two of them, her two lunch companions each staring at her with the same confused expression she was likely wearing.

"I could ask you the same question Lucy." Happy questioned as wings appeared on his back, Lucy blinking owlishly as the cat began to hover around eye level.

But Lucy had no time to question as to why the cat was flying, as Natsu turned to the cat with a serious expression."Happy! Get Lucy out of here!" He yelled as his face started to turn green, the boy clearly dealing with some seasickness of his own.

"Aye sir!" Happy replied and ,before Lucy could even argue, wrapped his tail around her stomach and pulled her into the air.

The charm ring man fired off bursts of flames in order to shoot them out of the sky but Happy appeared to be more agile than his appearance would lead others to believe, as the magical feline easily dodging each and every fireball sent their way. However, when they were about halfway to the shore, he looked down at Lucy with a nervous expression. "We've got a problem Lucy! My transformations up!" he shouted, his wings vanishing from his back and causing the two to begin to fall back towards the surface of the ocean.

However, before they could hit the water, Lucy held her bracer up and closed her eyes. "Oh ever flowing water, manifest your champion before me. Come forth Nyneve!" she shouted, the blue gem's glow glowing even brighter than the starlight that illuminated the night. In the next second a woman appeared falling next to Lucy. The woman had light blue curly hair that was even longer than Lucy's flowing down to her feet, or it would if it weren't for the fact that the three were falling fast. She wore an ancient dark blue dress that seemed to flow around her body like waves on a lake.

The woman stared at Lucy with bright blue eyes, smiling as the three continued to fall. "Ah Lucy, what can I do for you today?"

Lucy didn't answer immediately, instead focusing on landing successfully. She waited until the water was a few feet away before righting herself and rolling across the surface of the water, the surface of he ocean bouncing back up like a sheet of rubber the moment she impacted . Happy too simply bounced off the surface, the blue cat staring down at the water in both confusion and shock before his face transformed into one of amusement.

"Hello Nyneve, if you wouldn't mind would you please wash that ship back to shore? Gently if at all possible as there are civilians aboard." Lucy asked with a curtsy, causing the blue haired woman to giggle in delight.

"Of course I would Lucy, it would be quite unbecoming for a elemental to disobey an order after all." Nyneve answered before looking up at the ship with a glare on her face. Nyneve slowly raised her hand and, after sweeping her palm through the air like a king ordering a prisoners execution, created a wave that washed the boat back to shore.

"Wow Lucy! You're a mage too? And you can walk on water? That's so cool!" Happy exclaimed as he tested the waters surface, finding it just as solid as anything else he normally walked on.

Lucy smiled down at the blue cat before picking him up, Happy seemingly content with allowing her to pick him up. "Only when Nyneve answers my summons, her control over water is second to none after all." Lucy explained as she began to casually walk back to shore, Nyneve hovering just to her left as the elemental watched the two in amusment.

The three eventually made it back to the shore to find Natsu standing on the top of the now grounded ship, glaring menacingly down at the charm man and his henchmen as they scrambled out of various holes in the hull. "So you're a mage of Fairy Tail huh?"

"I am, and what's it to you boy?" the charm man growled out as he sent some of his henchman to deal with the pink haired child, who promptly smacked them away with little effort.

"Well I'm a mage of Fairy Tail, and I've never seen you're face before!" Natsu shouted as he began to walk forward, the air around his body beginning to shimmer due to heat.

_Fairy Tail… a mage guild known for their more destructive tendencies._ Lucy recalled as she narrowed her eyes at Natsu, feeling his magical energy beginning to rise.

"Hmmm...it appears that you no longer require my presence here Lucy, so I shall take my leave for now. Until next time." Nyneve decided and, after receiving a nod of agreement from Lucy, disappeared into a blue glow.

Lucy looked back up in time to see Natsu devouring the flames of the kidnapper, something that caused everyone around besides Lucy and Happy to stare at him in shock while Lucy simply blinked in surprise once again.

"Happy…what kind of magic does Natsu use?" Lucy asked carefully, trying to confirm what she already suspected.

"Why Dragon slayer magic of course! Natsu's can eat anyone's fire!" Happy declared as Natsu knocked the man clear across town, striking a bell and causing more than a few buildings to collapse due to the fierceness of their battle.

_Natsus'...a dragon slayer? Then...then don't i need to let him know everything? B-but Mom...no, I cant, I cant risk letting him know now. Not until I can confirm the truth of what I've discovered._ Lucy thought to herself, at first in a panic before calm washed over her mind, "It" suppressing her emotions before she became too unstable from meeting a slayer.

When the fighting finally stopped Lucy and Happy walked up to where Natsu was standing, the slayer in question grinning over the fact that he had gotten two free meals and a great fight in a single day, something he had only thought could happen at Fairy Tail when Mira was being particularly kind and Gray was being...Grayish. Unfortunately it was at that moment that the military decided to show up, clearly having been called in to make someone answer for destroying the port.

Deciding that she had no interest in being detained, Lucy decided that it was about time to make her way away from the destruction, but before she could even take a single step her wrist was grabbed by Natsu, who promptly began to flee with all his might as the military pursued them, Happy flying over their heads all the while.

"Ummm…Natsu? Why are you kidnapping me now?" Lucy questioned passively, making no move to remove herself from the dragon slayer's grip despite not understanding what was happening.

"I've decided…with you being so weird you should join Fairy Tail! It'll be awesome! You'll see!" He said with a massive grin, Happy mirroring Natsu's expression as the two Fairy Tail members looked at her.

Lucy blinked and stared blankly at the two before shrugging her shoulders.  _Oh well, I guess there's nothing wrong with joining a guild with a dragon slayer. Who knows, maybe he can help me in my search._ She thought to herself as Natsu continued to drag her away from the now pursuing military, completely unaware of how much her life was about to change.


	2. Chapter 2

Siegrain smirked as the old fools continued to complain about Fairy Tail's more destructive tendencies. In all honesty Siegrain couldn't care less about what the Fairies were up to but they were a decent distraction while he waited for his plans to come to fruition.

"Those damn fools in Fairy Tail have done it again! This time they destroyed an half a port!" One man shouted out as he crushed the report in his hand.

"Honestly those fools…we should just disband them and be done with it." Org sighed as he rubbed his temple.

"I quite like hearing about their antics, its fools like them that make this world so interesting." Siegrain said with a smirk, earning himself glares from some of the more uptight members of the council.

"What Fairy Tail has done is the least of our concerns at the moment." Yahima said to bring the others back on track. "Look to the last page of the report, where it speaks of the descriptions of the guilty mages."

There was a pause as everyone turned to the final page to read, Siegrain included.  _A pink haired fire mage, a blue cat, and a blonde girl with a silver armband were seen escaping from the burring docks. What's so special about that?_ Siegrain scoffed to himself.

However the other members of the Council seemed to find much more meaning in the descriptions than he did, as gasps escaped from a few lips and others looked even more stressed than normal.

"Oh…I was not aware that she joined a guild. And Fairy Tail no less" Belno chuckled to herself.

"Now don't jump to any conclusions, we have no guarantee that it is her. We shall simply observe Fairy Tail for the moment until we can confirm the identity of this blonde woman. We will just have to hope it turns out to be another person. Chairman Crawford said as his thought projection disappeared. Siegrain turned to look at Ultear, seeing an equally as befuddled face as he was likely wearing. It appeared that fate was beginning to move in a direction that neither desired. This it appeared was something both were going to have to keep an eye on if their plans were to come to fruition.

* * *

Lucy blinked in confusion as Natsu burst through the doors of what Lucy could only assume was the Fairy Tail guild hall and instantly proceeded to attack one of the members, screaming something about how he had been lied to about the Salamander.

It had been a few day since the events in Hargeon and the three of them finally arrived. Natsu had been adamant about not riding the train again; saying something about how he had already suffered too much from his double trip to Hargeon and Lucy had simply gone along with him as she was in no real hurry to get to her new home.

The sound of wood breaking brought Lucy back out of her thoughts to see the entire guild had joined in on Natsu's little brawl to the point where there seemed to be no safe route inside at all.

_Is this how all guilds greet each other? Or is Fairy Tail just special?_ Lucy couldn't help but think in confusion as she scanned the building for a spot that wasn't occupied by people trying to hit each other. Strangely enough at the back of the building Lucy could see a bar that seemed to be completely untouched by the violence. Nodding her head as she made her decision, Lucy began to casually stroll into the guild with the intent to take cover at the sole safe haven in the place.

* * *

Laxus watched the throng of peons with newfound interest from his spot on the top floor. At first he had been completely uninterested when Flame breath barreled into the guild and started a fight almost instantly, drawing in the rest of the weaklings as well.

That quickly changed however when he saw the chick Natsu brought in with him. she was quite the looker, blonde hair and brown eyes with a rack that could go toe to toe with the she-devil. But it wasn't her looks that drew Laxus's interest.

The girl initially looked confused when the guild broke out into fighting, but after just a few seconds of observation she was able to determine where the safest place in the guild was and was moving directly for it. Not exactly something most would consider difficult but when you took into account that she was walking directly through the center of the brawl things became more interesting.

The girl moved almost silently through the crowd, twisting and turning on her heels to avoid the flying bodies of the weaklings. However despite all the distractions the girls stride never once stopped, nor did it seem that anyone even noticed her walking casually through their fights. It was almost like she was a ghost and Laxus would have been inclined to believe it if he couldn't smell her new scent wafting up through the guild.

_Interesting…looks like flame brain actually managed to snag someone with some talent._ Laxus thought to himself as he smirked down at the new girl, deciding he would keep an eye on her if only for the entertainment value.

* * *

When Lucy finally made it to the counter of the bar she turned and studied the still fighting mages. Within the mass of bodies she could make out a few mages that she recognized from various news sources that reported on the magical world.

She could see both Elfman and Loke, the former screaming about his manliness and the latter flanked by two women who squealed every time he moved. She could also see a man who was half naked picking a fight with Natsu, and while Lucy could recognize his face she couldn't place a name to it.

"Oh my! Are you new here?" A cheery voice from behind the counter drew Lucy's attention away from the brawl to see a silver haired woman smiling at her, a tray of drinks held in one of her hands.

"Yes I am, Natsu brought me here to join the guild. My name is Lucy and its nice to meet you." Lucy said with a smile and a curtsy, causing the other woman to blush slightly and place a hand over her mouth.

"Such manners, it's rare to see someone like that here in Fairy Tail. My name is Mirajane by the way and it's quite nice to meet you." The woman introduced herself before staring out into the crowd. "And you say that Natsu brought you here? That's quite unusual of him. I wonder if there's a special reason for that, hmmmm?" Mira asked coyly.

Lucy was about to question what Mirajane meant by that when she felt a massive object approaching at high speed. Without even thinking about it Lucy reached out and roped a hand around Mirajane's waist, pulling the older woman out of the path of Elfman's flying form.

Mirajane blinked in surprise, not expecting someone to grab her waist, but when she saw her brothers form fly past in the spot she had just been occupying she smiled at Lucy. "Oh my, thank you for that Lucy."

"It's no problem, happy to help." Lucy said before feeling yet another body flying at them and once again grabbing Mirajane around the waist so that the two women could twirl out of the way.

The object this time turned out to be the dark haired boy who had been fighting with Natsu. Although now the boy was missing even his boxers, which Lucy could see Natsu was twilling in his hand as he grinned down at his fallen foe.

The boy grumbled as he extracted himself from the pile of barstools and upon seeing Lucy, smiled arrogantly as he held out his hand. "Excuse me miss, but would you please lend me your underwear?"

Lucy blinked in surprise and could hear Mirajane make a disapproving huff from behind her. But as Lucy wasn't sure what was custom in this guild she decided that the simplest choice was to simply comply with her orders.

Reaching a hand down to grab the bottom of her dress, Lucy began to lift up the bottom of her dress but stopped when both Mirajane and the boy grabbed her shoulders.

"Lucy! Don't fall for Gray's stupid joke!" Mirajane admonished as she stared concernedly at the young blonde.

"Holy shit Lady, I was kidding!" the boy named Gray breathed out with a strange look on his face.

"Damn Gray, is that how you get all your ladies? Cause if it is let me in on that trick." A woman drinking straight out of a barrel of alcohol slurred from her place on the bar.

"Shut it Cana! Didn't think the weirdo would actually do it." Gray cursed and with another strange glance at Lucy glared back at Natsu, who now had his fists covered in flame.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Stripper?"

"Oh what's wrong Flame Balls, mad that I can pick up chicks and you can't?" Gray challenged as he placed his fist on top of his other hand, the air around him chilling slightly.

It was then that Lucy noticed that nearly every person present was preparing magic of their own, something "IT" wasn't too keen on as it became instantly aware of the danger Lucy was now in. Lucy looked over curiously at Mirajane to find that the older woman was simply smiling and appeared to be waiting for something.

Lucy was about to question why she wasn't trying to stop the guild hall from being destroyed when a massive foot stomped down, shacking the entire building.

"Would you brats cut it out!" A massive man boomed, instantly stopping every member of the guild.

"Oh hello Master, I didn't know you were still here." Mirajane sweetly said, despite the fact that she had been completely expecting this to happen.

Lucy blinked in surprise as she stared up at the massive man.  _This is their guildmaster? Although I suppose it makes sense considering how "IT" reacted to his presence_. Lucy thought as she struggled to keep "IT" under control. The moment the titan had made its presence know "IT" almost went berserk and tried to seize control.

"HA HA! You bunch of wimps just going to give up? Guess that makes me the wine-." Natsu started to say but was cut off when a massive foot crushed him.

The massive man slowly surveyed the crowd before his gaze finally settled on Lucy. "Oh? A new recruit?"

"Yes sir, my name is Lucy and it is an honor to meet you." Lucy said as she curtsied again.

The man chuckled as he released his magic, allowing his body to shrink down to its normal size, Lucy was surprised to see that rather than being led by a titan of a man the guildmaster only reached her knee and was at least over seventy.

"Such a polite young lady, my brats could learn a thing or two from you." The man chuckled.

"Lucy, allow me to introduce the guild master of Fairy Tail: Makarov Dreyar." Mirajane introduced the man with a smile.

The Master then proceeded to jump to the second floor where he at first chastised the members bellow for their destruction of public property before launching into a elegant explanation of the true nature of magic and then held his hand straight up in the air, causing each and every member of the guild to follow suit with a battle cry of their own.

Lucy however only stared sadly at the man who would soon be her master.  _If magic truly comes from your soul then I can understand why that side of me has become so twisted. It's simply my true face…isn't that right mom?_

When the Master finished he jumped back down onto the first floor and sat down on the bar, a mug of beer seemingly appearing out of nowhere. It was then that Mirajane moved to stand before Lucy, a stamp held in her hands. "Well Lucy, where would you like your guild emblem and what color would you prefer?"

Lucy thought for a moment when she remembered what some of the other kids had told her about how she looked in pink. "I suppose…pink and…on my right hand please." Lucy decided as she held her hand up.

Mirajane smiled and nodded as she pressed the stamp down on Lucy's hand, pulling it away a few seconds later to reveal a new mark upon her hand.

Lucy thanked the older woman before looking up to see Natsu staring up at a board covered in what Lucy assumed were job requests. Holding her right hand up and smiling slightly, Lucy moved to stand behind the pink haired dragon slayer.

"Hey Natsu I joined the guild like you suggested."

Natsu didn't turn around as he responded with a seemingly bored tone. "Oh ya? Well that's great for you Luigi. Welcome to the guild."

Lucy blinked slowly as she looked over her shoulder for another person but saw only one other man standing even remotely close but he didn't seem to react to Natsu's comment.

Lucy opened her mouth to ask who Luigi was, but before she could a small boy ran into the guild to stand before the Master.

"Is my dad not back yet?" The kid asked sadly.

"You're starting to get on my nerves Romeo. You're a wizard's kid so have more faith in your old man." The Master said as he continued to drink his beer.

"But Master, he said he'd only be gone for a few days. And it's been a week now! The job wasn't that far away so why can't someone go look for him?" The boy named Romeo cried out, tears starting to form in the corners of his eyes.

"Listen Romeo, Macao is a wizard of Fairy Tail and he can take care of himself. Go home and wait patintly like a good little boy." Master Makarov coldly dismissed with a wave of his hand.

Romeo punched the Master in the face before running out the front door, crying the entire time. Lucy moved to sit on a barstool as she watched Natsu slam his fist into the request board and storm out of the building.

Lucy turned to stare at Mirajane, a curious look on her face. Mirajane smiled sadly as she started to wipe a glass. "Natsu probably just empathizes with Romeo, after all, Natsu's dad went missing nearly eight years ago."

Lucy squinted her eyes as Mirajane went on to explain that Natsu was raised by a dragon by the name of Igneel, and that said dragon disappeared on July seventh 777.  _The dates match up with all the other disappearances…I suppose that means Natsu's also searching for the dragons as well._

"It's actually quite a common story here at Fairy Tail, we all have some pain in our past that we're trying to overcome." Mirajane said sadly, Elfman's face falling as well from his place at the bar.

_I suppose that I'll fit in well here then._ Lucy mused to herself as she stood from her stool and walked began to walk to the door.

"Oh? Lucy, where are you going?" Mirajane called out from her spot behind the bar.

Lucy turned and smiled, "I plan to go help Natsu. I have a favor to repay." Lucy said and with a wave of her hand ran out the front door.

It took only a few minutes for Lucy to catch up with Natsu, as the dragon slayer was still stomping around in anger as he made his way to the outskirts of the city.

"Natsu! Wait up!" Lucy called out, drawing both his and Happy's attention.

"Lucy? What are you here for?" Happy questioned from Natsu's shoulder.

Lucy stared curiously at the blue cat. "Is there a reason I shouldn't go and help my new family?"

Natsu's eyes widened and a massive grin. "Alright then Luce, let's get going!"

* * *

The three arrived at Mount Hakobe around mid day as Natsu had decided to take a carriage in order to arrive earlier, something Lucy was sure he ended up regretting after seeing him sprawled out the moment they started to move. But as Lucy expected he recovered the moment they arrived at the mountain.

The three mages let the safety of the carriage to see that they had arrived halfway up the mountain, their surroundings covered in snow and an angry wind blowing through the area.

Almost instantly Natsu began to shuffle through the snow, making his way farther up the mountain, Lucy right on his heels.

They moved in silence for awhile before Happy turned his head to stare at Lucy. "Aren't you cold wearing that dress in the snow Lucy?"

"Not really, I've been trained to withstand extreme temperatures." Lucy answered with a shrug as she started to examine their surroundings. "Oh, now that I think about it, what did this Macao person come here to do?"

"The job was to deal with some Vulcans, too many of them up here or something like that." Natsu answered as he stared out at the pure White Mountains before them.

"mmm…shouldn't be that hard to deal with then…"Lucy thought out loud as she looked for any sign of life.

However all three were caught off guard when a massive monkey leapt down from a nearby cliff and grabbed Lucy. Natsu and Happy cried out in surprise but Lucy merely blinked slowly as the monster carried her away. With the fact that "IT" didn't even seem to register the beasts presence she could conclude that it was of no real threat and rather than escape from its grasp it would be far simpler to just allow it to take her back to its nest. Perhaps that was where this Macao person was.

It didn't take long for the monkey to arrive in its home, an ice cave carved out of the side of the mountain. It placed Lucy on the ground and began to dance around in a rather strange manner.

Lucy however couldn't care less what the monkey was doing at the moment, instead focusing on examining the cave. Unfortunately she could see neither hide nor hair of the missing mage but at the very least she saw no other Vulcans in the immediate area.

"My woman, My woman!" The Vulcan sang as it continued to dance around.

Lucy frowned as she stood, holding out her bracer, "I apologize, sir Vulcan, but I belong to Fairy Tail now and cannot become your "Woman" so to speak, however I would appreciate it if you would hand over the mage who came here three days ago."

The Vulcan stared at her in confusion for a second before its face contorted in anger. "Not my woman…then I crush you!" It screamed out and raised its fists high into the air. However before it could land its blow the brown gem on Lucy's bracer began to glow brighter and in the next second a being comprised entirely out of rock appeared next to Lucy and slammed a massive fist into the vulcan's chest, sending the creature flying across the chamber.

Lucy stared up at the spirit with a smile, "Thank you for answering my call, spirit of earth. Would you please defeat the creature before us?"

The earth spirit nodded its featureless face but before it could even take a single step Natsu appeared and sent a flaming fist through its chest, shattering it and sending it back to the plane of earth.

"Lucy, what the hell was with another monster showing up?" Natsu asked as he placed himself between the monster and Lucy.

"That was one of my spirits Natsu." Lucy explained as she silently thanked the spirit for its aid.

"Lucy! You alright? Did the mean monkey hurt you?" Happy cried as he landed on lucy's head, worry clear on his face.

Lucy simply shook her head as she reached up to pet the cat behind the ears. "No im fine Happy, it just danced strangely and claimed I was it's woman."

Natsu growled slightly and pointed his fist at the Vulcan. "Alright listen up monkey, what did you do with Macao? Fairy Tail's my family and I won't let anything stop me from keeping my family together." However the Vulcan didn't answer with words, instead it just sprinted forward and lashed out at Natsu.

Lucy's eyes widened in surprise at Natsu's statement as said fire dragon slayer started to fight against the Vulcan.  _Fairy Tail is a family...i didn't think I would get another chance at one of those._ Lucy thought in a daze, only snapping out of it when Natsu finally defeated the Vulcan only for the monkeys form to vanish in a puff of smoke, revealing a bleeding man in its place.

Both Happy and Natsu gasped in surprise as they ran to the man's side and Lucy quickly followed.

"Macao! Hey you alright man?" Natsu asked as he laid the man on his back.

Lucy took only a single look at the man's heavily bleeding wounds to tell that it they would be fatal if they did nothing. Quickly deciding on the safest course of action, Lucy held out her hand and channeled her magic into the water gem. "Oh ever flowing water, manifest your champion before me. Come forth Nyneve." She chanted quietly, causing the water spirit to appear before the four mages.

"Hello again miss Lucy, what can I do for you tod- oh my." Nyneve started to greet before noticing the bleeding man.

Lucy fell to her knees at the man's side, not caring about the blood that was now staining her dress. "I need your help to control his blood please." She said as she placed her hands over Macao's wounds and closed her eyes in concentration.

"Yes of course, I would be happy to help." Nyneve said as she placed a hand on Lucy's shoulder, her hand glowing bright blue.

Lucy didn't bother to look up at Natsu as she continued to speak. "Natsu, Happy, I can stop this bleeding and help him recover but it takes a lot of concentration so would you mind guarding me while I work?"

Natsu, to his credit, didn't take too long to consider what Lucy said before smiling and slamming a fist on his chest. "Sure thing Luce, you can count on me."

"Aye sir! We won't let any Vulcans steal you again." Happy declared with a salute as he flew to Natsu's shoulder.

Lucy's brow furrowed as she tried to figure out who this Luce person was but that was a question what could wait until after she saved Macao's life. So Lucy simply submerged herself in the Magic and began the delicate work of controlling the man's blood.

* * *

Natsu watched in shock as over the next few hours Macao's blood began to flow back into his open wounds and as said wounds began to close on their own. Natsu had never seen someone use magic to heal wounds but he could tell just from the fact that neither of the two woman had so much as twitched during the time it took that it was hardly a simply spell to use.

However, when night finally fell on the mountain, Lucy collapsed backwards into the waiting arms of her spirit. Natsu stared down in surprise to see that while the wounds were not completely gone they had shrunk to the size on a few small cuts.

"Would you mind bandaging the remaining wounds young man? There's a chance that some could open up again if we're not careful." Nyneve asked as she stroked Lucy on the head, a tender expression on her face as she watched her summoner.

Natsu quickly got to work as happy sat down next to Macao's head, said man now comfortably sleeping. "Wow…Lucy can heal wounds too? She's so cool!"

"It isn't easy for her and without my aid she would not be capable of such magic but I must agree with you, my summoner is indeed "cool"." Nyneve said with a smile as she laied Lucy down next to Macao. "Now then, young man, I must return to the plane of water before I drain too much of Lucy's magic. I trust I can leave her in your care until she awakens?"

"You betcha! I got this." Natsu said as he wrapped the final wound and smiled up at the water spirit.

"Very well then, until next time." Nyneve said with a bow and disappeared.

Natsu stared down at the now sleeping blonde. He hadn't originally thought that when she offered to feed him in Hargeon that she would be saving the life of one of his family not a day later. In all honesty, he had only asked her to join the guild on impulse seeing as she seemed to have some cool magic of her own and while she could most certainly be weird, her attempt to strip coming to the forefront of his mind, she was still very interesting.

His smile growing even wider, Natsu settled down between the two sleeping mages in order to keep either from freezing during the night and settled down to sleep himself. Happy decided that the most comfortable spot would be nestled in Lucy's arms and quickly took his place, the blonde mage subconsciously wrapping her arms around his fuzzy form. And within a few minutes both feel asleep.

* * *

Lucy awoke suddenly as he magic reserves returned to normal levels, "IT" instantly checking her surroundings for any sign of danger. Lucy however was more surprised to see Happy, trying to get as close to her chest as he could and Natsu's sleeping face staring at her.

_Ah, I see. I must have used up too much magic healing Macao's wounds._ Lucy thought to herself as she slowly petted Happy's head, earring a sleeping purr from said cat.  _But to think that Fairy Tail is supposed to be a family… it looks like I still have a lot of stuff to figure out here._

Lucy looked at Natsu's sleeping face again and frowned to herself. She, more than anyone likely suspected, could empathize with Natsu's desire to see his foster father so badly. But unlike her there could still be a chance for the two to reunite. If Fairy Tail is really a family then shouldn't she do anything in her power to help him find his dad?

Lucy bit the inside of her cheek as she weighed her options. She knew she couldn't break the promise she made to her mother to not reveal what she learned from her mission. But surely she could at least confirm this Igneels presence.

Making her decision, Lucy steeled herself and closed her eyes again. But instead of allowing herself to fall back to sleep again she instead connected her magic to the plane of fire, allowing her mind to come into contact with one of her most powerful friends  _Ifrit… there's something I have to ask you._


	3. Solomon's Child

When Natsu, Lucy, and Happy awoke next the sun was shining and the storm that had been covering Mount Hakobe the entire day before. The three made their way back down the mountain, Natsu carrying Macao on his back. The black haired man awoke halfway back to Magnolia with the most confused look Lucy had ever seen on someone's face.

"Hey Macao, bout time you woke up." Natsu happily said as the older man got his bearings.

"…Natsu... what's going on? I was fighting the Vulcans and then…" Macao thought out loud as he tried to piece together the last few days.

"You we're taken over by a Vulcan." Lucy explained passively, drawing the Macao's gaze to her, the confusion on his face only growing.

"Who are you?"

"Oh right, I'm Lucy and I just joined Fairy Tail a few days ago. It's nice to meet you." Lucy explained with a slight bow, causing the older man to blush slightly at the sight of her cleavage.

"She's the one who saved your life, she's Lucy!" Natsu explained as he let Macao stand, still lending him a shoulder.

"Aye! She's got this lady she calls out to help and she can even put blood back in your body." Happy commented as he lazily flew around their heads.

"Well then I guess I owe ya one miss." Macao laughed for a second before his face fell in defeat. "Just a shame that I couldn't defeat all the Vulcans, managed to take down nineteen of the bastards but the last one managed to get me. How can I face Romeo now?"

"Just face him the same way you always do, face him as a proud member of Fairy Tail." Lucy said simply, drawing the gazes of the other three. "If you can defeat that many opponents then you have nothing to be ashamed of."

"Ya, what Lucy said. I'm sure Romeo will be proud." Happy said and Natsu nodded in agreement.

The four mages eventually made it back to Magnolia and after reuniting Macao with a now teary eyed Romeo. The young boy yelled out in thanks as Natsu, Happy, and Lucy made their way back to the guild, the three mages waving as they left.

It was only a few more minutes before the three arrived at Fairy Tail, Natsu kicking open the door to announce their return. However this time he did not attack any member this time and simply strolled forward and took a spot at the bar.

_So we aren't supposed to attack people when we enter the building?_  Lucy thought as she blinked in confusion and followed after Natsu.

"Hey Mira! We're back and Macao's fine and we dropped him off with Romeo when we got back." Natsu announced as he took his seat.

"Why that's fabulous news Natsu, and how was Mount Hakobe Lucy-." Mirajane started to say before gasping shock. "Lucy! What happened to your dress my dear?" she shouted as she pointed at Lucy.

Lucy tilted her head in confusion before looking down in order to try to figure out why Mirajane was freaking out, although I didn't take long for her to figure out.

Lucy had been unable to completely return all of Macao's blood to his body and a very large amount had stained her dress, making it seem like someone had just been trying to murder her. It was so bad that when the three were making their way back to the guild many civilians cried out at the sight of her, fully believing she was the ghost of a murdered girl. Although not one of the three had noticed the stares and shocked faces.

"Oh it's just Macao's blood, nothing to be too concerned about." Lucy said as she waved off Mirajane's surprise.

However, the white haired woman was having none of it. Mirajane stomped out from behind the counter and began to push Lucy into the back of the guild. "Absolutely not, I can't have you parading around looking like some vengeful spirit. We've got a bath in the back so go use it while I find you a change of clothes." She ordered with a smile that didn't quite reach all the way up to her eyes. Causing both Lucy and "It" to shudder in fear.

"U-umm…I understand." Lucy mumbled as she allowed Mirajane to push her into a bathroom.

"Alright then, you get yourself cleaned up and ill find you a change of clothes for you while I wash this dress." Mirajane said as she closed the door to the bathroom and walked off, likely to find said change of clothes.

Lucy waited until she could confirm that she was alone before fully undressing and submerging herself in the bathwater. She had to wait until she was completely alone before removing her clothes; after all, she had no real way of explaining the scars that adorned her chest and stomach.

Lucy had already finished washing herself and already had the towel around her body when Mirajane returned, carrying a change of clothes and a brush. "Oh? You certainly finished your bath quickly. You could have just enjoyed yourself for awhile longer." Mirajane commented but at Lucy's uncomprehending stare she simply sighed and placed the clothes on a nearby table and gestured for Lucy to sit on a stool. "Well come over here so I can fix your hair, by the looks of it you haven't taken care of it in awhile."

"Mmmm…never had time to when I was on the road." Lucy confirmed as she took her seat, and Mirajane started to work. The two were silent for a moment before Lucy decided to confirm something that had been bugging her. "Hey…Mirajane?"

"Just Mira's fine Lucy, that's what everyone else calls me." Mirajane said as she pulled at a particularly bad knot.

"Then Mira, Natsu told me something that I wanted to confirm. Is Fairy Tail a family?" Lucy questioned quietly.

Mira paused for a second before giggling. "That sounds like something he would say. And to answer your question yes; Fairy Tail is one big family."

"I see…I'm glad." Lucy said as a euphoric smile spread across her face.

Mira laughed as she saw Lucy's face in the mirror. "Well I'm happy to welcome you into the Fairy Tail Family Lucy. Are you happy you joined?"

"I am…after all I've never had a family before." Lucy casually declared, causing Mira to stop in her ministrations and gawk at the blonde.

"What do you mean Lucy?"

Lucy turned to stare at Mira, her face just as blank as it always was. "I mean that I've never known my family. I never had real parents and my mother was simply the person who taught me how to live properly, she wasn't my relative."

Mira's hand shot to her mouth for a second before hugging Lucy from behind. "I'm sorry to hear that Lucy…but your part of our family now so you'll never have to be alone again."

Lucy wasn't sure why Mira sounded so emotional at the mention of family, but was grateful for her concern nonetheless. "Ok, thank you Mira."

"You're quite welcome Lucy, now I'll leave you to finish getting dressed." Mira said as she finished brushing and left Lucy alone with her thoughts.

Lucy frowned as she stared at the door. She had not been completely truthful with the barmaid. He had indeed had a family besides for her mother, but she no longer had the right to call them her family. This was the first time however that she had anyone behave like an elder sibling to her and if she was being entirely frank with herself it confused her.

Deciding to simply go with the flow, Lucy stood up and inspected her new outfit, finding it quite different than what she was used to.

Natsu and Happy devoured their food with gusto as they waited for Lucy to finish with her bath. Mira had emerged from the back room with a slightly pensive look on her face but no one commented on it. After all, everyone had things they didn't want to talk about.

"So Flame Brain, how was the new girl? She hold her own up on Hakobe?" Gray asked smugly as he leaned on the counter.

"What you'd call me?" Natsu growled in between bites, wanting to fight but deciding against it when Mira sent him one of her looks, knowing full well how the she devil would react to a fight near her bar.

"She's really cool! She can make people pop out of thin air." Happy explained as he finished his fish.

"She can summon people? Wonder what kind of magic it is…" Gray mused out loud, his own thoughts mirroring many guild members who happened to be listening in on the two rivals.

"My magic is known as Elemental summoning magic Mr. Fullbuster. It allows me to call out to beings comprised of pure elemental energy from their respective planes of existence." Lucy's voice sounded off, announcing her return to the guild hall.

"Oh Lucy, did you finish getting the blood off yo-." Natsu started to ask before noticing Lucy's new outfit, his words dying in his throat.

Lucy was currently wearing a pitch black tank top that fit her body so tightly that it almost looked like it was painted on. Her legs were covered by a tight dark purple skirt that left most of her thighs exposed for the world to see. On her feet was a pair of knee high black boots that made every man present inadvertently cringe at what she could do to someone with those.

"You look absolutely fabulous in that Lucy!" Mira squealed as she inspected the blonde.

"Truly? I have never worn an outfit of this design but so long as it does not limit my mobility too much I suppose it will do." Lucy commented as she inspected herself, bending down an inadvertently giving the boys of the guild a full view of her ample assets. Many of the men, including the Master, whistling or cat calling, causing Lucy to blink in confusion as she stood back up.

"Mira, don't trick Lucy into wearing your old outfits." Natsu said as he returned Mira's look from earlier, causing the barmaid to pout slightly.

"What are you saying Natsu? If you're a real man then you just enjoy the view regardless of where it came from." Elfman shouted out from a table, many of the men yelling in agreement.

"S-so Lucy, you were saying your magic is elemental summoning? Never heard of that magic before." Gray said as he tried to change the topic.

"It's an ancient and powerful magic Gray, when one finds gems of power that connect to the elemental planes one can make a contract with said beings in exchange for power." The Master explained as he continued to leer at Lucy, stopping only when both Mira and Natsu shot him a glare. "However the gems themselves are incredibly rare and even then just having a gem does not guarantee that the spirits will appear before you. You have quite the talent my dear." The Master said as he smiled warmly at Lucy.

"Well then why don't you give us a demonstration girly, let's see you work that magic." Cana shouted out from her place in the guild, a chorus of agreements emerging from the crowd.

Lucy did not immediately respond, instead she looked to the Master for his permission. Once she saw him nod his head and wave a hand dismissively Lucy held out her right hand and connected her magic with the plane of water.

"Oh ever flowing water, manifest your champion before me. Come forth Nyneve." Lucy called out; the air in front of her shimmering as the woman appeared.

The guild members ohed and awed as the woman appeared but both ignored them. Lucy bowed deeply, her head practically parallel to the ground. "I thank you for answering my call, Lady Nyneve. I am humbled by your presence." Lucy gave her formal greeting as she always did when she summoned the spirit without the dangers of combat looming over her head.

"Well done Lucy, however it appears we have quite the audience today. Would you care to inform me of exactly who these people are?" Nyneve questioned calmly as she warily watched each member of the guild in turn.

"They are my guildmates. I joined a guild a few days ago." Lucy explained.

"I see…" Nyneve mumbled as she finished examining the others, her face contorting into a frown. "I must say I am quite unimpressed with their power. I doubt they have the capabilities to stand beside you on your path."

Lucy could see some members of the guild flinch at the water spirits harsh words while others raised their eyebrows at the implied meaning that Lucy was far stronger than those who were present. "Don't say that Nyneve, I can only do so much by myself from here on out so it was about time for me to join a guild. And from what I've seen so far they are more than capable." Lucy defended.

Nyneve regarded Lucy with a critical eye for a moment before sighing and rubbing her temples. "If you say so Lucy, however I shall withhold my judgment until they prove themselves to you. Until Next time." Nyneve said and with a curtsy once again vanished into nothingness.

The guild was silent for a moment before cheers broke out.

"Oh hell ya that was awesome! The New chick can just call people out of thin air!"

"Maybe I can get her to join my team, she seems like she could go toe to toe wit the best of them."

Lucy was surprised that so many people considered her so strong, something that she had not experienced at all in her early days.

"Quite the uptight spirit there Lucy, she was from the plane of water I gather." The Master asked.

"Correct, she was Nyneve, Greater spirit of water and Mistress of the flowing river. She specializes in precise water control. It was with her powers that I was able to control Macao's blood and keep him alive." Lucy explained.

"So Lucy, what other spirits can you summon?" Mira asked from behind the counter as she handed Lucy a glass of water.

"I have the gem of water, the gem of earth, the gem of wind…and the gem of fire." Lucy explained.

"Wait Lucy you can summon fire? Then let me get a taste of them!" Natsu said as he jumped from his seat, bearing a massive grin on his face.

Lucy however smiled sadly and shook her head. "I'm sorry Natsu, but fire spirits don't like to be summoned unless I have something to burn. Even a lesser spirit wouldn't answer my call unless I want to burn down the guildhall or something similar."

"Well then I would ask you to hold off on calling said spirits Lucy, we already have enough bills to repay with Natsu burning down everything in sight." The Master said with a sigh.

"Of course Master, and while I don't have any contracts with wind spirits yet, I am able to summon an earth spirit if you wish to meet one?" and when the others quickly nodded their heads Lucy once again connected herself with the planar magic. This time however she connected with the earthen plane.

"Oh indomitable spirit of the land, manifest your champion before me. Come forth Gaian!"

The brown gem on Lucy's bracer began to glow and in the next second a man was standing in the center of the guild. His skin was tan to the point of looking more like leather and his head was bald and shimmering in the daylight. His eyes were sharp and dark as he regarded his summoner. His body was adorned with bright brown armor that left no single square inch of his body exposed. At his waist as a large hammer that, while not particularly well adorned, appeared to be made entirely of rock and was still imposing enough that no one present would wish to be on the receiving end of it.

The two regarded each other for a moment before Lucy bowed elegantly. "Erazes mon Valar Gaian, monvas ellaven." Lucy said in a language no one present understood.

It was only after her strange greeting that the man smiled. "And may the earth forever protect you as well Milady. It has been quite awhile since I've seen you." Gaian then looked to each guild member in turn, just as Nyneve had done before him. "I see you have summoned me in the presence of mages, may I inquire as to what the occasion is?"

"These are my new comrades in arms. Guild members as they are referred to here." Lucy explained. "I'm sure you'll be seeing plenty of them in the future as I shall be fighting alongside many of them."

"Then I'll look forward to working with each of you in the future." Gaian said with a bow before turning back to Lucy. "One thing before I go. Lord Ifrit wished to convey the answer to your question as you are unable to summon him yourself. He asked me to pass along his message and I quote, "There has been no sign of a child of flame by the name of Igneel in the realm of flame, he still draws breath within your realm."

The entirety of the guild stopped breathing at the mention of Natsu's foster father and Natsu himself stood up so fast that the stool underneath him was knocked over. Lucy however paid her guild mates no mind as she pondered Gaian's information. "I see…that's quite good to hear. Well then until next time Gaian." She said and with another bow the man disappeared, leaving nothing but silence in his wake.

Lucy went to take a drink of water as the consecutive summons had taken a slight toll on her mana. But before she could even put the glass to her mouth her shoulders were roughly grabbed and a wide eyed Natsu stood right in her face.

"Lucy what the hell was that guy talking about? What did he mean that Igneel wasn't in his realm or whatever that meant?" Natsu asked breathlessly as he shook Lucy's shoulders, shaking the entire girl's body like a rag doll.

_Oh right, I forgot to tell Natsu about what I was checking._  Lucy realized as she stared back at the confused dragon slayer. "I asked one of the flame spirits I'm contracted to, a spirit by the name of Ifrit, to check whether or not your father was present in their realm. The soul of a dragon returns to the realm that most relates to their own element when they die. Even on the off chance that he was simply hiding out in the realm of fire Ifrit would have noticed."

Natsu opened and closed his mouth repeatedly as he processed what he had just been told. Everyone stared worriedly at the two, knowing fully that Natsu could be relentless when it came to his father and while Lucy appeared to be magically powerful she didn't look all that physically tough.

"W-…why would you do that?" Natsu finally asked his voice uncharacteristically quiet.

Lucy didn't hesitate for a second before answering. "The first reason is that my mother asked me to look into the dragon's disappearance and determine where they went. The other reason is, well, because you're family so I thought that I would try to give you some peace of mind."

Natsu's eyes grew even wider at Lucy's explanation. "Of course Pop's still alive Lucy...but thanks anyway for seeing if he was in this "Fire Realm" place." Natsu finally said as he released Lucy's shoulders, the guild sighing in relief as he did.

"Geez Natsu, you can't grab a lady like that and shake them so violently! Especially someone as fragile looking as Lucy!" Mira chastised as she smacked Natsu on the head with a wooden ladle.

Lucy smiled at the now pouting dragon slayer. "It's alright Mira; I understand why Natsu would be so aggravated when he heard that. It's my fault that I forgot to tell him about it anyway."

"So your mom wanted you to look for the dragons too Lucy? Is that why you were in Hargeon when you met us?" Happy asked as he flew over and landed on Lucy's shoulder, his big round eyes staring up at her curiously.

"Yes it was, I had heard rumors of a Salamander as well and went to investigate." Lucy explained.

"So then what have you learned about the dragons Lucy? Common tell me!" Natsu asked excitedly and almost aren't to grab her again but stopped when Mira whacked him on the head again.

"I'm sorry Natsu, but my mother also asked me to keep my knowledge to myself, at least until I can confirm the dragon's locations with one hundred percent accuracy." Lucy explained her tone sorrowful but firm.

Natsu's jaw clenched for a second before he nodded his head, his face serious. "Ok, I can respect obeying your parent's request. I won't ask unless it's important." Natsu face broke out into a grin then as he held up his hand to reveal a piece of paper. "Anyway Lucy I picked out a job for us to do, ready to get to work?"


	4. Solomon's Child

Lucy stared down at Natsu, who was currently battling against his stomach and losing, as they made their way the town their job was taking place in, a town named Shirotsume. Lucy, Happy, and Natsu had immediately left after Natsu had forced the job request into Lucy's face, the three speeding off before anyone could say anything.

Knowing that Natsu would be incapable of holding a conversation with his lunch threatening to emerge and Happy was satisfied with poking his partner in the face. So with nothing else to do Lucy merely inspected the job request.

The job was suspiciously simple, the only stipulation being that they burn a book in the possession of a Duke Everlue and once they did so they would receive twenty thousand Jewels. Lucy narrowed her eyes as she reread the request, "It's" suspicions mirroring her own. She had destroyed too much evidence in her life for her to not notice the similarities between what she once did and this request.

However, Lucy decided to shelve her concerns for the moment and looked back up at the nauseous dragon slayer and his cat.

"Excuse me, Natsu, Happy; but I was curious as to why you asked me to come along with you on this job. Surely magicians of your skills shouldn't have any difficulty retrieving such a book."

Happy and Natsu smiled strangely, although Natsu's smile looked a little more pathetic due to his motion sickness. However neither answered Lucy's question, instead Happy merely flew over and pointed at a small section of text at the bottom of the job request that Lucy had missed.

"Please note; Everlue is currently looking to hire a new maid with blonde hair…" Lucy murmured out loud causing the other two in the carriage to snicker loudly.

Lucy blinked rapidly as she reread the note.  _To think that they would pick a job that perfectly pertains to both my physical attributes as well as my unique talents…I can't underestimate these two._ Lucy thought in shock, slightly worried that if they could already see through her to such an extent that some of her more personal secrets would end up coming to light.

However Lucy didn't allow her doubts to show on her face and instead stared back up at the two mages and gave them booth a thumbs up. "Excellently done!" she declared, causing the other two to stare at her curiously for a second before a particularly large wave of nausea hit Natsu.

* * *

It was only around two more hours of traveling before the three arrived in Shirotsume town, Natsu instantly reviving the moment they exited the carriage. Natsu instantly began to complain about how hungry he was and deciding to get some food at the first restaurant he saw. Lucy however politely declined to join them for lunch, as she had supplies she had to procure before the mission began.

When Lucy returned to the restaurant clad in a maid uniform she managed to find from a clothing store Natsu started to choke on the piece of meat he had been shoveling into his mouth.

"L-lucy? why are you wearing a maid uniform?" He questioned tentatively, causing Lucy to blink and tilt her head in confusion.

"For infiltrating the mansion of course. Isn't that why you brought me in the first place?"

"No, well I mean that's true but…oh never mind." Natsu said with a sigh as Lucy took a seat on his other side and started to eat a small portion that had been set aside for her.

"So Lucy, why did you join up with Fairy Tail when Natsu asked you to? Is it because you lllliiiikkkkeee him?" Happy cooed causing said dragon slayer to grumble under his breath.

"Because he asked me to, I still need to repay the favor you two did for me back in Hargeon." Lucy answered simply in between bites

Natsu stopped chewing to stare strangely at Lucy. "You mean that whole thing with the fake Salamander? You already bought us food; I don't see what else you could possibly need to repay us for." He said with a massive grin, Happy jumping up from his seat with an "Aye!" of his own.

Lucy simply smiled as she continued to eat.  _You saved that man's life Natsu. And you let me keep the promise I made so I don't know if I can ever fully repay you for what you've done for me._

After finishing their meal, the three proceeded to the house of the client, a man by the name of Kaby Melon, which turned out to be an impressively sized mansion. However as they were escorted inside by the man's wife Lucy noted the strange absence of any serving staff that would normally be present, not to mention the fact that it was the Lady of the house who answered the door. But when Lucy was about to share her concern with her teammates she noticed their childlike expressions as they examined the house and decided to simply keep it to herself for the moment. She could always bring it up later if it became important.

Eventually they were led to a room where an older man was waiting. The man standing up and smiling as the four entered the room.

"Hello, my name is Kaby Melon and I was the one who posted the job request. I take it you are the mages from Fairy Tail?"

"Yep, names Natsu and this is my partner Happy. Behind me is Luigi." Natsu introduced everyone, including the strange entity know as Luigi that Natsu had mentioned earlier. Perhaps Natsu had an imaginary friend that he believed was real?

Regardless Lucy moved forward and gave a small curtsey. "Hello, my name is Lucy and I am a Fairy Tail mage as well. A pleasure to meet you."

Kaby nodded at the greetings and gestured for them all to sit. "so lets get down to business. The job itself is fairy self explanatory, a man by the name of Everlue has a book named Daybreak in his possession. I would like you to destroy it for me."

"Heh, no problem. Ill burn the whole guys house down if you want me to." Natsu said playfully as he lit one of his fingers on fire.

Lucy however wasn't quite as excited, her eyes narrowing slightly as her suspicions returned to the surface. "May I ask why you wish for this book to be destroyed sir?"

"For two hundred thousand Jewel who cares why?" Natsu commented.

"Actually the reward has been increased to two million." Kaby corrected, causing Natsu and Happy to sputter in surprised and for Lucy's eyes to narrow even more in suspicion.

While Natsu and Happy were freaking out about how to split up the money Lucy merely glared at Kaby. "…may I ask why exactly you have raised the reward to such a degree?" She coldly asked, causing the older man to flinch slightly.

"Well…I simply cannot allow that book to exist any longer." Was all Kaby said, his hands clenched in front of him.

Lucy was about to question what exactly he meant by that but before she could Natsu sprung to his feet with a face brimming with confidence. "Alright! I'm fired up now! Come on Lucy, Happy, let's get going!" and grabbed Lucy by the back of her collar and sprinted out of the door and down the hill going in the general direction of Kaby's mansion.  _Ah well…I suppose I will just have to inspect this book myself._  Lucy decided as she continued to allow Natsu to drag her through the air and calmly observed the cloud of dust that followed in their wake.

* * *

Lucy blinked slowly as she inspected the Mansion of their target. It had only taken Natsu a half an hour of sprinting to reach the front of the house and now Natsu and Happy were waiting in the nearby brush for Lucy to infiltrate the mansion along with her bow and bag, leaving Lucy with just her spirits for defense.

Sighing once, Lucy knocked on the door before yelling out. "Hello, I am here to apply for the open maid position." Lucy yelled before retreating a respectful distance back and bowing her head.

For a moment nothing happened, the only sound being the chirping of birds off in the distance, however in the next moment the ground before exploded open, revealing a pink haired massive woman standing before Lucy.

"Oh? A new girl to serve the master?" the woman asked in a voice so low that Lucy was almost positive that it was actually a man, something that the woman's body certainly gave credence to.

"Indeed, my name is Lucy and I have come here to apply for said position." Lucy calmly declared as she curtsied slightly.

"…Did I hear someone mention a new maid?" a voice echoed from nowhere in particular and in the next moment a short stubby man exploded upwards from underground. Lucy instantly recognized him as the man mentioned in the job as well as the owner of the mansion they were currently outside of, Duke Everlue.

"Yes sir, I have come here to serve under you." Lucy said in a monotonous voice, her head still bowed in reverence.

For a moment no one spoke, as Duke Everlue stared at Lucy with a slight glare, however Duke Everlue finally turned and waved his hand dismissively. "Thanks but no thanks ugly, take you hideous face somewhere else."

Lucy felt sorrow and anger begin to take root in her heart but she quickly squashed them as she raised her head. "I see…I apologize for taking your time sir. Good day." However before Lucy turned to leave she stole another glance at the massive maid that had appeared first. From the moment the woman had appeared Lucy's magic had begun to resonate with the pink haired woman in a very peculiar way. The woman in question had only added to Lucy's suspicions, her gaze never leaving Lucy for a second and a look on her face that Lucy couldn't quite describe.

However Lucy chose to not act on her suspicions, as doing so would compromise their mission, and instead retreated a good distance and met back up with Natsu and Happy who were both shacking their heads.

"Really Lucy? You couldn't even seduce one old fart?" Natsu said with clear mock disappointment. However Lucy bowed her head in shame all the same.

"I deeply apologize for my failure; please allow me another chance to complete the mission." Lucy said, her voice giving away the fact that she was close to tears and her head bowed in shame.

Natsu and Happy immediately reversed their positions, their grins turning into gaping mouths and wide eyes. "I-it's alright Luce; it's only some old bastard's opinion after all." Natsu quickly denied with a wave of his hands.

"That's right, and the mission isn't over just yet after all. We can just break into the house after all." Happy agreed as he nodded his head repeatedly in agreement.

Lucy blinked rapidly as she regained control over her emotions and thoughts, feeling quite stupid for her emotional outburst.  _I'm a fool_ ,  _of course Natsu and Happy wouldn't react to my failure like they would. So long as I don't fail again I can still stay with them._ Lucy thought to herself as she renewed her determination, she WOULD obtain that book or die trying.

* * *

After Lucy's failure in infiltrating by herself the three mages decided the simplest way to obtain their objective would be to just infiltrate the mansion normally and steal the book themselves. As Lucy changed back into the outfit that Mirajane had given her, Happy proceeded to fly Natsu up onto the roof of the building and then she herself after she was done changing. Once up onto the ceiling Lucy could see that Natsu had already burned a hole in the glass of one of the windows.

"I still don't understand why we don't just go in through the front door, explosions make every job better." Natsu mumbled as he slipped inside the building and quickly looked around for anyone who had heard them enter.

"I would not advise that Natsu, despite the constraints of our mission if we assaulted the building outright we would also be earning the ire of the local authorities." Lucy commented as she too entered through the hole, her bow held in her hands at the ready. "It would be best if we remain as stealthy as possible."

"Wait stealth? Like a ninja?!" Natsu questioned excitedly, Happy echoing him almost immediately.

"While not quite the term I would use but yes, I would advise we infiltrate like ninjas."

The three continued to explore the inside of the house, with Natsu having wrapped his scarf around his face and Lucy following suit and placing the headdress she had used as part of her maid outfit across her mouth. However, despite their now stealthy attire, they were unsuccessful in finding neither hide nor hair of Daybreak.

"Intruders!" A strange creature dressed in a maid uniform shouted out as it rounded a corner and discovered the three Fairy Tail mages. "Cybele, there are intruders within the masters home.

"Let's get them ladies!" the loud maid like creature roared as it burst from underneath the ground and landed on Natsu, crushing him underneath. However Lucy wasn't even remotely concerned for her guild member, as she could clearly see that he was holding the massive creature over his head. A second later Natsu had flung the massive pink haired creature into its fellow monster maids, knocking the entire group unconscious and opening a massive door that they had been standing next to and revealing a massive library.

"Impressive…there are many books in this library." Natsu murmured quietly trying to appear ninja like but for what reason Lucy couldn't figure out.

"If the client's book truly is in this man's possession then I can't think of a better place to keep said book than here." Lucy mused out loud as she began to examine the spines of each book searching for their target.

It wasn't five minutes later that Natsu began screaming about how he had found a sparkly book, and when Lucy looked over she instantly saw the title she had been looking for on the cover of Daybreak.

"Good job Natsu, you found our target." Lucy commented as she strolled over to inspect their target.

"Heh, of course I did, I'm just that awesome after all." Natsu bragged as he lit his hand on fire, his intent obvious. "Well then let's get this over with."

"Hold on for a moment Natsu, I want to see that book first." Lucy said as she quickly swiped the book from Natsu's hand and opened it up.

Natsu's eyes widened for a second before narrowing into a unamused glare. "Lucy…our job was to destroy the book, not read it."

"I'm well aware of what we were hired to do Natsu. However there are simply too many suspicious parts to this mission for me not to be suspicious of this book." Lucy retorted normally, completely ignoring Natsu's anger.

"Why would you be suspsious Lucy?" Happy questioned as he landed on the blonde's head to peer down at the book in question.

"Well for starters why hire mages to deal with something as simple as destroying property when a mercenary guild could have been just as capable of burning an unenchanted book. Not only that but to offer two million jewels for this? It just doesn't make sense that Mr. Kaby would hire us unless he was attempting to destroy evidence of his transgressions or something along those lines." Lucy explained as she continued to turn pages, her eyes narrowed in concentration as she searched.

"You mean that bastard wants us to cover up his crimes?" Natsu yelled, his flames flaring in response to his emotions.

"It's just a theory but yes, that is what I am trying to investigate here."

"Hoh hoh? If that's the reason you have broken into my home then I can assure you that you are mistaken. After all I am the one who commissioned that books creation." A new voice, one that Lucy quickly identified as Duke Everlue, echoed out as the stubby man burst out from the floor and was flanked by two intimidating men. "I could tell instantly that you had come before the great me in an attempt to pilfer my goods, but I never would have thought that you were after that rubbish."

Lucy's eyes narrowed at the Dukes words, if even he didn't value this book then why were they hired in the first place. "Natsu, buy me some time while I figure out the truth of this book, I'm certain that it contains a secret unknown to us."

"Sure thing Lucy, just don't get too wrapped up in it." Natsu joked with a cocky smile as his hands burst into flames.

Lucy nodded and ran through a nearby door that led into the basement, Happy right on her tail. If she was going to discover the secrets of this book she was going to need some time and a lot of peace and quiet, both of which were difficult to find in the middle of a brawl.

Eventually she ended up in the sewers underneath the mansion, in a dead end but at the very least it was quiet. Lucy immediately sat down and focused all of her attention on the book before her, even brining "IT's" considerable analytical powers to bear. With both their attentions focused on the novel Lucy was able to quickly figure out that the book had a spell placed upon it, as well as the books original purpose.

"I see…so that's the truth of it" Lucy murmured as she stood back up and placed the book into her bag. "I will have to deliver this to Mr. Kaby."

"Or you could just tell me the secret my dear!" Everlue shouted as he burst from the wall and attempted to grab Lucy's arms. However before he could even get a single finger on her Lucy leapt out of the way and drew her bow in one fluid motion.

"I apologize sir, but as a mage of Fairy Tail I was commissioned to obtain this book for the client and I cannot allow my first official mission to end in failure." Lucy declared neutrally as she continued to eye Everlue.

"You little witch. Fine then, if you want to play hard ball then I will happy to oblige!" The old Duke shouted before brandishing a black pendant over his head. "Come forth Cybele, answer the call of this pendant." The man shouted and a disturbing magic flowed forth from within the item causing both Lucy and Happy to shudder slightly.

Lucy realized what was going on a second before Happy shouted out. "Lucy, hes using something like your magic!"

However, before Lucy could speak, the pink haired maid appeared before the four of them. the maid looked a little worse for wear but glared at the two Fairy Tail mages. "I hear and obey, my master."

Lucy's eyes went wide for a second before she stared down at the ground with her hands clenched so hard on her bow that the wood was beginning to groan due to the force.

"HA HA HA, tremble before my power worms. After all standing before you is one of the most powerful earth spirits known to man! But if you apologize I will be sure to for-."

"Be quiet…" Lucy interrupted Everlue's rant, her voice quiet and cold. "Do you realize what you have done? Do you understand the pain a spirit goes through when you bind them to our plane?" Lucy asked emotionlessly as her eyes once again fell on the duke, the anger held within causing the older man to shudder and even caused Happy to recoil slightly.

"Lucy…what do you mean?" Happy questioned, sounding close to tears at seeing one of his friends so angry.

"In addition to my own magic there is another way to summon a spirit from the elemental plane." Lucy began to explain in a frosty tone and without taking her eyes off of the duke. "One may force a spirit into our plane using devices, like the one held in his hand, and bind the spirit to their will. However doing so forces the spirit to go through immense pain, similar to if someone forced us to live the rest of our lives underwater."

Happy gasped and glared at the chubby man. "You would do that to innocent spirits?"

"Of course I would, I'm rich and I can do anything I want! Now then Cybele remove these pests from my home!"

The massive maid didn't answer with words and instead raised her fist in preparation to pound Lucy into oblivion. However Lucy wasn't the least bit intimidated by her actions.

"Natsu? Would you mind taking care of this spirit for me?" Lucy questioned, causing the other three people in the room to stare at her with confused expressions on their faces.

However, before anyone could question her sanity, Natsu jumped upwards from Cybele's back and struck her on top of her head with a ball of fire. "Awww Lucy, you ruined my surprise. How did you even know I was there?" Natsu asked as he landed on top of the now fallen maid.

"I could feel the air begin to heat up." Lucy explained as she watched Everlue retreat back into the ground. However Lucy had no intention of allowing him to escape. Lucy connected herself with the plane of earth, allowing a lesser earth spirit to manifest by her side. The spirit took the form of a piece of hovering rock, gently spinning by Lucy's side and granting her a connection with the earth that surrounded them

"Even if you've defeated Cybele you still won't be able to defeat me and my diver magic. After all, with only a bow with not a single arrow you don't have a prayer!" Everlue taunted as he closed in on Lucy from underground, intending to drop down on her and steal the book back

"Who ever said that my bow needs arrows to fire?" Lucy asked as the spirit transmitted Everlue's exact location to her through vibrations in the ground. In one fluid motion, Lucy drew back the string of her bow which caused a lightly glowing arrow to appear already nocked against the string.

Lucy waited only a second more before releasing the arrow, causing a streak of white light to pierce the ceiling and strike Everlue in the dead center of his chest. The man tumbled down out of the ceiling with a look of agony on his face.

"H-how the devil did you do that?" He questioned as he grabbed at his chest.

"My bow here dose not fire physical projectiles. Instead it concentrates my magic into a bolt of energy that directly attacks my opponent's nerves." Lucy explained as she placed the bow back on her back and strolled over to the fallen spirit and kneeled before it. "Please forgive me noble spirit. But if it is ok with you I would be honored to send you back to your home."

The spirit turned to stare at Lucy with a curious look on its face. "You would allow me to return home? I thank you little one." The spirit paused then with a smile now on its face. "I would like to ask you something Priestess; would you accept a pact with me?" the spirit asked as its form began to shimmer out of existence.

Lucy blinked for a few moments before bowing her head in reverence. "Of course, noble spirit, I would be honored to serve as your summoner." And in the next moment the spirit vanished into a warm glow.

Natsu and Happy watched with smiles on their faces until their surroundings began to shake like an earthquake was currently hitting the area.

Lucy casually stood and looked around at the now shacking walls. "I suppose that Cybele must have been maintaining the stability of the land around here with Everlue digging holes all over the place." She explained as a particularly large chunk of ceiling fell down into the sewer.

Natsu instantly grabbed Lucy's hand and began to drag her through the now collapsing tunnel. "Wow Lucy, you're first mission and you're already destroying public property? You'll fit in great with everyone!" he said with a playful grin on his face, Happy mirroring his grin as he flew alongside the two.

* * *

Natsu casually stared at the back of the blonde mage as the three of them made their way through a swamp on their way back to Fairy Tail. When Lucy brought the book back to their client Natsu had at first been curious as to why she had refused to destroy the book. However she quickly explained that Kaby's father, Zekua Melon, had left the book as always intended for his son and that only his hands could remove the spell upon it. Of course Kaby had decided that he would not destroy the book at that point, meaning that they had to return home empty handed.

Natsu had expected Lucy to complain about not receiving their reward for completing the mission but to the fire dragon slayers surprise she didn't even mention the lack of reward, and even didn't mention the fact that they were now walking back to Fairy Tail rather than taking the train or a carriage which was something that Natsu was eternally grateful for.

In all honesty, Natsu wasn't quite sure what he thought about the new member to his family. She was strong sure, but in a guild filled with monsters like Mira or Erza that wasn't such a big deal. What really confused him was that she clearly had some connection with the dragons but she refused to elaborate any further than what she had already said.

While he would have never admitted it out loud, Natsu was immensely relieved when she told him that his foster father was still kicking. Once in a great while Natsu would lay down in his hammock and before he could fall asleep his thoughts would inevitably lead to his dad, and whether or not he was still out there or not. The thoughts would terrify him to no end and he wouldn't be able to sleep that night. Knowing that the old bastard was still out there was a huge wighet off his shoulders and while normally he didn't trust someone just on their word when it came to the dragons Natsu just couldn't see Lucy lying about this, something in her gaze just made him feel that he could trust her.

Although that didn't mean that Natsu wasn't still curious about whom she really was. Beyond just her clear connection to her dad and the rest of the dragons there was so much else that she kept hidden about herself. For one she reacted to jokes as if she never noticed that she was being made fun of, something that Natsu still wasn't used to. She also didn't seem to trust everyone so much, when they had camped out the night before she had stayed so far away from the fire that he had lit it almost made her hard to see. She had also shrugged off any personal questions that Natsu or Happy tried to ask her.

However, despite her secrets, Natsu still enjoyed hanging around her. She made somehow made everything more interesting and on the plus side if he spent enough time around her he was sure to find out something about what happened to the dragons, it was only a matter of time.

Natsu was about to ask her another time for more about where she came from but before he could a bush along their path began to shake suspiciously. And Natsu decided that whatever was within was something that was clearly a threat and leapt to attack it.

Natsu was naturally correct as the moment he approached the bush ice prick jumped out with a scowl of his own on his face. Natsu continued to glare at his rival as Lucy continued to casually stroll forward until she was standing just off to the side of the two mages.

"Hello Gray, are you on your way back to Fairy Tail as well?" Lucy casually asked, completely ignoring the tense atmosphere between the two.

Gray smirked and straightened out, clearly uninterested in Natsu now which did nothing but piss off Natsu even more. "Hey Lucy, how was dealing with Flametard here. Did he screw you out of the mission like he always does?"

"No quite the opposite actually, it was due to my own actions that we didn't receive our reward." Lucy denied, causing Natsu to smile at the fact that she defended him.

"Hey ice balls! What the hell did you just call me?" Natsu growled, his flames covering his fists in anticipation of the oncoming brawl.

"Cool it flame breath, we don't have time to fight here. After all Erza's due back any day now and I'd rather not have to worry about her finding out about this." Gray said with a slight shiver as he finished speaking, Natsu's jaw falling and his own body shacking involuntarily as well.

"Erza? As in Erza Scarlet? I have heard that she is one of the most powerful fighters in our guild. But I have read nothing on how she is in real life. Is she a good person?" Lucy questioned innocently, causing the other three mages to shiver as they thought about her.

"She's scary." All three answered simultaneously.

"She's super powerful, like kicking down three mountains powerful." Happy declared as he hugged himself for comfort.

"No way Happy, its only like one mountain at a time." Gray denied with a wave of his hand.

"I see…so her power is strong enough to knock down mountains? I don't think I'll be able to keep up with her in that case." Lucy said with a slight frown.

Natsu was about to correct her misunderstanding but before he could Lucy's face transformed into a scowl. Before Natsu could ask the blonde girl twisted around and fell down onto one knee, drawing her bow and pulling the string until a pale white arrow appeared. In the next moment five arrows flew into the nearby woods, and within seconds a multitude of voices screamed out in pain. Natsu watched in shock as five figures fell from the branches, each either clutching at parts of their bodies or twitching after falling unconscious.

"Wha…how…" Gray stuttered as he stared wide eyed at both the fallen figures and Lucy, who had now risen back to her two feet and was watching the men she had put down.

"I felt someone about to cast magic upon the area and decided to attack first. They weren't comrades correct?" Lucy asked in a colder tone than normal.

"Never seen them before in my life." Natsu denied as he strolled forward towards one of the still conscious mages. However, before he could question the mages on what they were doing here, the shadows beneath them seemed to swell and consume the five mages.

Natsu jumped back and quickly scanned his surroundings for any sign of an attack but nothing happened, their surroundings were just as quiet as they had been moments before. As the four mages relaxed their guard once again Natsu couldn't help but look at the blonde mage who was staring at the spot where the mages had fallen with a neutral look on her face. Somehow he could just tell that another fun fight was just on the horizon for the three of them.


	5. Solomon's Child

Lucy's mind snapped awake as the light of a new day began to illuminate the world around her, "It" instantly recognizing that a new day had started and forcing Lucy's mind awake without a hint of drowsiness that would normally accompany a rude wakening. Lucy understood that awaking with perfect clarity was completely strange but it had been so long since she had a normal night sleep that she couldn't even remember what it was like to not be at one hundred percent the moment the sun peaked over the horizon.

Stretching her arms and standing up, Lucy brushed the grass and twigs off of the back of her dress before confirming the safety of her surroundings. It had been about a week since the Daybreak job and Lucy had been spending her days either at the guild with Natsu and Happy or confirming the geography of the city and its surroundings in case she had to make a quick escape. when night fell she would return to the forest just east of the city, the same forest that bordered the coast line, and simply find a tree to sleep against. While Lucy had no real reason to expect anyone to attack her here in Magnolia, her old training still kept her on edge after all these years and in the end was there any real reason to sleep in an alley in the city as opposed to in Mother Nature?

* * *

Lucy didn't actually make her way to the guild for another few hours, spending the early hours of the day continuing her exploration of the city until the guild would have more than just Mira in it like she had discovered early on in the week. Opening the door and quietly making her way to the bar, Lucy was greeted by Mira's smiling face.

"Why good morning Lucy, your here early again."

"mmm…I always get up early in the morning." Lucy explained as she sniffed the air, her mouth watering slightly at the scent of eggs wafting out of the kitchen behind Mira. "Could I please order some of those eggs for myself Mira?"

Mira giggled before turning away. "Of course Lucy,and because it's so refreshing to have someone be polite for a change ill give you a little extra."

The guild was quiet for awhile, the only sound being the silver haired barmaid cooking behind the counter. But the silence was soon shattered when the guild doors slammed open to reveal a smiling Natsu and Happy.

"Hey Mira! Can we get some breakfast?" Natsu yelled as he approached the bar.

"Sure thing, coming right up!" Mira shouted from the kitchen.

It was then that Natsu noticed the blonde mage sitting quietly at the bar, his grin growing even wider as he approached and slapped a hand on her back. "Here for breakfast Lucy?"

"Yes, I don't feel like hunting this morning." Lucy casually explained, causing Natsu's and Happy's eyes to grow wide.

"Lucy…you hunt for your food?" Happy asked cautiously, clearly fearing for his life.

"mmmm, there's actually a plentiful amount of deer around here." Lucy explained as Mira walked back into the room, holding one tiny plate for Lucy in one hand and a massive pile of food in the other for Natsu.

"You shouldn't do that Lucy, if you're hungry you can always come to me for food, I'm willing to feed you if you don't have the money." Mira chastised, clearly having overheard the conversation from the kitchen.

"It's not that Mira; it's just an old habit from when I was traveling. I would rarely spend my nights in villages so I just hunted when I had to." Lucy explained as she took the plate from Mira and began to dig in, her stomach growling loudly at the scent of food.

"Why wouldn't you stay in any towns Lucy? nothing beats a nice bed after a long days journey." Natsu asked in between shoveling food into his own mouth, and handing Happy the fish Mira had delivered alongside Natsu's own food.

"It's just in my nature, bad things tend to happen to me in towns." Was all Lucy said before shrugging slightly and turning her head back to focus on her meal.

Natsu, clearly dissatisfied with her answer, opened his mouth to force her to elaborate but before he could a blue haired girl around Lucy's and Natsu's age approached.

"Its fine Natsu, everyone has strange habits like that and most dont like to talk about them." The girl commented before turning to Lucy. "Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Levy Mcgarden." The girl introduced herself as she held out her hand.

Lucy smiled as she took Levy's hand and shook it lightly, the manners that had been ingrained into her taking over. "Hello, I'm Lucy. It's nice to meet you too."

"Oh I know, Natsu shouting your name every time he sees you certainly helps the rest of us remember who you are." Levy joked with a sly grin on her face, Natsu choking slightly at her jab. "But anyway I wanted to ask you something Lucy. The other day, when you summoned that earth spirit, you were speaking in another language right? Would you mind telling me what language that was? I've never heard words like those before." Levy excitedly asked as she leaned forward, her eyes practically sparkling in excitement.

Lucy, slightly taken back at the girls unexplainable eagerness, quickly recalled exactly what Levy was talking about. "Ah, that was the language of the Earthen elemental plane. Each elemental plane has their own native language and some spirits prefer their summoners to converse with them in their native tongues. What I specifically said was "Greetings, my old friend, may the earth stay stalwart under your feet.""

"And where did you learn this language? Did your spirits teach you? Or did you have to discover it yourself?" Levy continued to bombard Lucy as she leaned forward more and more, making Lucy lean back as the conversation continued.

"No, my spirits didn't teach me. It's just something recorded in these writings I recovered from some ruins a few years ago." Lucy explained as she rummaged through her bag to find a loosely bound pile of papers, each page filled with Elemental words and their Fioreian translations.

Levy practically leapt at the papers, her eyes wide in joy as she examined each page for a moment. "Oh wow, it's quite complex compared to our own language, and some words seem to have a double meaning." It was then that Levy finally looked up and finally noticed Lucy curious stare. "Oh I'm sorry, I just get really excited when I get the chance to learn something new."

"I understand, I love pursuing lost knowledge myself. Although my reasons are slightly different than what yours are likely to be."

Levy blinked for a second at Lucy's cryptic words before smiling again and continuing to look through the pages. "So Lucy, would you mind if I looked through this? I would love to learn another new language."

"Of course not. In fact I could let you borrow the languages of fire and water as well if you would like." Lucy replied as she went back to her breakfast. However, before she was able to take even a single bite a bone crushing hug came from her back.

"That would be awesome! Thanks Lu!" Levy exclaimed with a childlike laugh.

"Lu?" Lucy repeated blankly.

"Oh sorry, I just thought that giving you a nickname would be a perfect way to celebrate our new friendship. Levy explained with a bashful look on her face.

"Friend…am I really your friend?" Lucy repeated, almost not believing what Levy had said.

"Why of course you are! Anyone who pursues the truth of the world is a friend in my book." Levy explained with a boisterous laugh.

Lucy couldn't help herself; she smiled so wide that it practically hurt. But in the back of her mind she had to remind herself that no matter now close she got to this guild she would have to be ready to abandon it all at a moment's notice. After all, someone like her didn't really deserve to have people care for her.

* * *

After finishing her breakfast, Lucy spent a very large chunk of her morning with Levy and Happy. Levy was a literal infinite question machine, asking Lucy everything from where she was born to what she enjoyed doing during her free time or if she had any favorite books. Lucy of course was unable to answer most with specific answers and instead had to remain as evasive as possible, such as just saying she was from the north and that she didn't really have any interests in particular.

It was around lunch time when Happy noticed that Lucy's white dress had an abnormal amount of grass stains on it considering the fact that it was just recently washed.

"Hhheeeyyy Lucy, did you spend your morning playing in the dirt." Happy asked his hands over his mouth in order to hide his grin.

Lucy blinked in confusion for a moment before looking down at her dress to see the grass stains that Happy was referring to. "Ah, that must have been from last night."

"What were you doing in the forest in the middle of the night Lu?" Levy asked in concern for her new friend.

"It's where I slept last night."

Lucy's immediate surroundings quieted within a second, the various guild members staring at her like she had grown a second head.

"Lucy dear, are you spending your nights in the forest?" Mira asked, remembering how Lucy was always in first thing in the morning and always seemed like she had just come in from a hike through the forest. Mira had just assumed that the girl spent her mornings in training rather than spending her nights out in the cold.

"Not all my nights, I sleep either in the forest, a few alleys, and on the beach behind Fairy Tail." Lucy denied with a shake of her head.

"Lucy! If you were homeless why didn't you mention something! The Master would have been more than happy to set you up in the guild until you could get on your feet." Mira practically screamed. "You're coming with me right now, young lady; let's go find you a place to live."

"It's not that I can't afford somewhere to live Mira, it's just that I see no reason to spend my money on a place to live." Lucy quickly explained before the barmaid could grab her hand and drag her away. One thing that Lucy had learned very early on is that no one crossed Mira when she was upset and Lucy wouldn't dare to go against her, not after what she had seen the barmaid do to Natsu with a wooden ladle after he and Gray got into a fight too close to her bar.

"Then after today we're setting you up with a room at Fairy Hills, no ifs or buts." Mira ordered with her hands on her hips, a no nonsense's look on her face.

"U-understood." Lucy replied with a gulp, even "It" was perfectly aware that they couldn't go against Mira in this situation.

"Awesome Lu, you can get the room at the end of the hall next to mine." Levy said as she tried to lighten the strained atmosphere.

"And you can make sure you have the money for the room by going on a mission with me and Happy!" Natsu said as he scurried over to the request board.

"Together? I was under the impression that our team was only a temporary thing." Lucy questioned as she stood as well and moved to stand by Natsu's side.

"What are you talking about Lucy? Someone as weird as you could only be on our team, right Happy?"

"Aye sir!" Happy yelled as he landed on Lucy's shoulder.

"Don't feel like you need to pair up with Flame nuts there Lucy, I'm sure that with your skills you'll get plenty of team invitations." Gray commented from a table off to the side, his shirt missing just like always.

"What the hell did you say Ice breath?"

"You heard me ash-for-brains."

In the next moment the two young men launched themselves at each other, drawing a good portion of the guild into another brawl. Lucy simply moved to stand next to Mira and her bar, a place that was known to be a sanctuary from guild brawls. Lucy had long ago adapted to her guild mates ability to turn simple conversations into full blown fist fights so at that point "It" couldn't even tell that anything was out of the ordinary.

It was while Lucy was watching the guild attempt to rip itself apart that a new man approached Lucy, his eyes obscured by a pair of sunglasses.

"Ah, so this is the new flower known as Lucy? If you are looking for a team then I am more than happy to invite you to the team of love with me tonight." The man, whom Lucy identified as Loke, said as he slung his arm across Lucy's shoulders and leaned in close, his eyes now visable from behind the shades.

"I would love to, but unfortunately I have to move into a place called Fairy Hills tonight. Perhaps another time." Lucy quietly denied Loke as she gave a slight curtsy in apology.

"Ah, then I shall wait for you no matter how long it tak-." Loke continued to speak before noticing Lucy's silver armband and his words died in his throat. "…are those elemental gems?" He asked quietly, a shaky hand pointing at Lucy's right arm.

"mmmm, I'm an elemental summoner." Lucy explained as she brought her arm up to show off the gems she had collected. However when she did so something Lucy couldn't explain happened. Each gem began to glow brighter than normal, almost like the spirits on the other side were attempting to open their gates themselves but were unable to do so.

Loke backed away quickly almost like he had been struck, his face pale and his eyes wide behind his glasses. "I-I'm sorry Lucy. But I'm afraid that we can never be together. Our fates take us far away from each other's arms." Loke cried out melodramatically before sprinting through the guild brawl and out the front door.

Lucy watched the man leave before turning to stare at Mira with a curious look on her face, one that Mira returned.

"I don't think I've ever seen Loke run away from someone other than me and Erza. You've got quite the gift Lucy." Mira commented as she began to wipe the counter down, occasionally dodging a flying bottle.

Lucy didn't comment as she took her spot at the bar, her mind going back to the strange reaction that her gems had given off a few seconds ago. She had never seen the elemental sphere's react to a person's presence besides that of her own presence or that of another summoner. Did that mean that Loke was a summoner as well? But she couldn't feel any magic like her own emanating from the man during their brief contact. Did that mean that Loke had recently come into contact with another summoner? Or was it something entirely different.

Lucy's mind was still contemplating these questions when the door to the guild slammed open again, revealing a still very pale Loke.

"Everyone, Erza's back in town!"

Within the next second the guild froze, their eyes wide and panic on their faces. Gray and Natsu in particular looking more scared than anyone else. The guild erupted into a flurry of activity as the members tried to cover up the brawl.

When the guild had finally managed to make itself somewhat presentable the sound of metal boots echoing as they approached the guild. From out of the bright light of the day a red haired woman entered the guild carrying a massive monsters horn over her shoulder and dressed completely in armor.

The moment the woman placed the horn on the ground Mira smiled from her spot behind the bar. "Welcome back Erza, did the job go well?"

The woman, Erza, nodded curtly, "Of course, is the Master currently in Mira? I have something to discuss with him."

"No sorry, he left earlier to take part in a guild masters meeting."

"I see." Erza murmured as she placed a armored hand on her chin in thought.

"Um, Erza? What's the deal with the massive horn?" One of the members asked with more than a little bit of fear in his voice.

"It's the horn of the monster I defeated in the course of my mission. The villagers were so greatful that they decorated it for me." Erza answered before glaring at the man who had asked the question. "Why? Do you have an issue with this horn?"

"Nope! Not at all!" the man squeaked as he backed away in fear.

It was at that point that Erza began to chastise each and every member in turn for their apparent lack of control on missions and their destructive tendencies. When she was finished she sighed heavily before looking around curiously. "Are Natsu and Gray present?"

"Aye!" Happy answered before pointing at the two mages in question, who were currently hugging while staring nervously at Erza.

"Oh hey Erza, didn't see you come in. I was too preoccupied with spending time with my best bud here." Gray stuttered as he stared at Natsu.

"A-aye!" the fire dragon slayer answered with an equally nervous look on his own face.

Erza nodded in satisfaction before continuing. "Good, it's nice to see the two of you getting along. However that's not why I asked for you. I overheard something that has me worried and I feel it is necessary for us to deal with it immediately. I would ask the Master for permission and opinion but with him being out I will simply take matters into my own hands. The two of you will be accompanying me later today in order to deal with a potential threat."

The two mages looked at each other with a mixture of defeat and anger on their faces before Natsu turned back to look to Erza, a grim determination on his face.

"Alright Erza, ill go but I've got conditions." Natsu stubbornly declared, causing a hushed murmur to echo throughout the guild from the shocked reactions of other members.

Erza's eyebrows rose slightly but otherwise she said nothing, meaning she was willing to listen to his demands.

"One thing I want is I want a one on one when we get back from this job or whatever it is."

"What the hell's wrong with you idiot, you got a death wish or something?" Gray hissed at Natsu quietly, afraid of Erza's wrath.

The red haired mage was surprised to hear Natsu challenging her again after the last beating she had given him. But she would be lying if she said that she wasn't interested in fighting against the dragon slayer again. "Very well, I accept your challenge. What was your second demand then?"

"That you let Lucy here come with us on this mission." Natsu asked with a large grin and a slap on the blondes back, causing Lucy to jump slightly and brining her out of her thoughts and look around with her usual blank look.

"Oh? You finally formed a team Natsu?" Erza asked as she sized up Lucy, quickly noticing the silver armband and the bow on her back. "It's a pleasure to meet you Lucy, I am Erza Scarlet, S-class mage of Fairy Tail."

"The pleasures all mine Erza. I have heard only many things about your strength and I look forward to working with you." Lucy warmly replied as she bowed slightly in respect.

Erza nodded in satisfaction, pleased at both the levels of magical energy she sensed from the blonde mage and from her manners in front of a superior. "Very good, well then I expect to see the three of you at the train station within the next hour. Gather your supplies and meet me there." And with that Erza turned walked back out the door into the sun.

The guild was quiet for only a moment before people began to talk quietly to themselves. Lucy however didn't stay around to listen as she grabbed her back and began to make her way out of the guild, but she did hear Mira mumbling to herself as she made her way out.

"Erza, Gray, Lucy, and Natsu all on the same team? This might be the most powerful team in the history of Fairy Tail!"

* * *

Lucy watched as Natsu squirmed and groaned in the seat across from her as the train began to move. They had all successfully met up at the train station and had even managed to coax Natsu onto the train, the fire dragon slayer collapsing almost immediately after reaching his seat.

"Good god Natsu, could you be any more pathetic." Gray said with a disappointed sigh, causing Natsu to try to insult the black haired teen back but the only sound coming from his mouth was a pathetic gurgle.

Lucy said nothing as she watched Natsu try to hold down his breakfast. She could empathize with the dragon slayer for what he was going through, it was never easy when your stomach was trying escape from the confines of your body.

"Well I suppose it can't be helped. Natsu, come sit next to me." Erza commanded gently, Lucy quickly inferring that she wanted Lucy to switch places with the nauseas dragon slayer.

The moment the two had switched places Erza placed his head against her shoulder and smiled angelically at him. "Now just relax." She said as she sucker punched him in the gut, Natsu fainting almost instantly. Lucy nodded her head in agreement, after all when someone was dealing with motion sickness the easiest way to avoid losing your food was to simply be forced unconscious during the duration of your travels.

Gray finally turned away from the window to stare at the red haired mage, his face serious. "Erza, I think it's time for you to tell us what exactly we are doing."

"Yes of course, we will be destroying a dark guild today." Erza announced like it was entirely normal, and in all fairness, it was completely normal for all the mages present.

Erza went on to explain how she had overheard a group of mages talking about their intent to unseal a dark artifact and specifically mentioning a dark mage by the name of Erigor. Meaning that the mages in question had been mages of Eisenwald. However Erza had only noticed the connection between the mages and the ace of Eisenwald after she had left and she admitted that destroying an entire guild that specialized in assassinations might be a little much even for her.

"So what exactly was it that tipped you off to their intentions?" Gray questioned with an almost bored look on his face.

"One of the mages mentioned a sealed artifact called "Lullaby" and just from the name I could tell it was a device of dark magic.

Lucy's mind was instantly alert at the mention of one of Zeref's minions, "It" mirroring Lucy's own caution. "Are you certain of that Erza? Your certain it was Lullaby?"

Instantly all eyes turned to Lucy with the exception of Natsu's who was still unconscious due to Erza's blow.

"Of course I am Lucy. Do you know what artifact they were referring to?" Erza questioned, her eyes narrowing in suspicion at Lucy's recognition of the name.

"Lullaby is the name of a particularly powerful demon from the book of Zeref. It uses sound waves to attack a person's consciousness and forces them into an eternal sleep. The last I had heard the demon had been sealed away but if a dark guild has found it there's no telling how much damage they could inflict using its power." Lucy explained her voice dark with an unspoken anger.

"So how did you learn all this Lucy? Demons aren't exactly common knowledge." Gray questioned with his own memories of Zeref's demons first and foremost in his mind.

Lucy smiled sadly at Gray, pain clear in her eyes. "Let's just say that it was part of my upbringing. I learned a lot about Zeref and his dark magic when I was younger, although it wasn't exactly by my own choice."

Gray was surprised to see the pain in Lucy's eyes, a pain that reminded him of the look a younger Erza use to have when she was alone. The group was quiet for a moment, each person lost in their own somber thoughts. Unsurprisingly, it was Happy who broke the strained atmosphere, as he jumped silently into Lucy's lap with eyes that looked like they were on the verge of tears.

"Well at least you have us now, right Lucy?"

Lucy's eyes cleared of sadness as she grabbed the little blue cat and hugged him tightly. "Of course Happy, I have Fairy Tail now." She warmly said, causing the other two mages to smile as well.

For awhile no one spoke, they simply enjoyed the comfortable silence that Happy had created, but eventually Lucy looked back up at Erza with a question on her face.

"Miss Erza, I hope you don't mind me asking, but would you mind telling me what kind of magic you use?"

"An excellent question Lucy." Erza replied as she took a bite out of a piece of cake that Lucy hadn't even seen her pull out, making Lucy wonder if she had conjured it with magic.

"Erza's magic is awesome! She makes her opponents bleed a lot!" Happy exclaimed, Lucy nodding along with his excitement. After all, there were few things in the world more satisfying than defeating an opponent.

"Personally I find Gray's magic to be more impressive than my own." Erza said with a smile, Gray mirroring her expression.

"You mean something like this?" he said as he placed a closed fist over the other hand, a faint cool mist emanating from underneath his closed fist. A second later Gray removed his hand to reveal a piece of ice carved into the shape of the Fairy Tail emblem, now floating above his hand. "I use Ice make magic."

"I see…is that why you fight with Natsu so often? Because he wields fire and you wield ice?"

"Hmm, I never considered that." Erza commented.

"Nah, I just hate his guts."Gray denied with a wave of his hand.

* * *

The three mages continued to chat as the train slowly but surely made its way across the landscape, Happy content to simply sit and enjoy Lucy's petting, until they eventually arrived at the station that Erza had last seen the mages of Eisenwald. The moment the train pulled into the station Erza jumped up and briskly walked out of the carriage they had been in with Gray and Happy right on her heels. Lucy stared down at the Natsu for a second, debating whether or not to drag the dragon slayer along with her. In the end however she had not heard Erza order her to bring him along. Perhaps there was a reason she had left Natsu aboard the train. In the end, Lucy simply decided to leave Natsu where he was laying and followed after her other team mates.

Once she had caught up, she could see Erza waiting for her with an impatient look on her face. "Alright then, let us first proceed to the bar where I first saw the mages and see if anyone noticed where they went." Erza commanded as the train began to pull away.

However, before they had taken more than ten steps away from the train station Happy stopped and looked around with a confused look on his face. "Has anyone seen Natsu?"

Erza and Gray instantly stopped and looked around themselves, before both their gazes returned to the now departing train.

"…Guess we left him aboard." Gray said as he placed his hands on the back of his head, his shirt and jacket now missing in the brief moment Lucy wasn't watching him.

"What a fool I am. I completely forgot that Natsu hates all forms of transportation. I'm so embarrassed; I need one of you to hit me for my penance." Erza commanded with a pained look on her face.

Lucy watched Gray and Happy for a moment and after seeing neither of them making a move to obey their orders Lucy decided she would have to be the one to do the deed. Before anyone could question what she was doing Lucy strolled confidently forward and smacked Erza lightly across the face.

The platform quieted down in a second with the sole exception being the girlish screams that both Happy and Gray released the moment Lucy's hand made contact with Erza's cheek, both staring at Lucy like she had just walked into the jaws of a demon.

Erza however had an almost refreshed look on her face as she stared at Lucy. "Thank you Lucy, my head is much clearer now. I shall go and obtain for us a car in order to pursue the train. You three wait here for me."

"Understood." Lucy replied with a single nod, the scarlet haired mage returning the gesture before leaving the station.

"…Holy shit Lucy… you've got balls of steel to do that to Erza." Gray breathlessly complemented as he watched Erza leave, never having seen someone actually go through with the action of striking Erza due to her request.

Lucy turned her attention to the shirtless ice mage, a confused look on her face. "No not steel, these orbs are highly concentrated magical lacrima. I'm afraid I don't have any steel orbs on me nor am I aware of there being a realm of steel to connect to." Lucy corrected as she gestured to the bracer on her right arm.

"No I didn't mean…aw screw it." Gray dejectedly sighed as he strolled towards the road, his hands fiddling with the waistline of his pants.

Lucy simply stared after him, not able to work out exactly what he had been alluding to, before simply picking up the mages discarded shirt and jacket and following after him. Happy landing gracefully on her shoulder and snickering to himself, clearly enjoying Lucy's ignorant antics.

* * *

It wasn't long before Erza came screeching around the corner in a car and stopping before the three Fairy Tail mages, each of who instantly jumped in within a second so they could begin their pursuit. Within minutes they had caught up to the train they had been riding on Erza driving them close to the carriage they had been riding in.

However, before anyone could make a move to retrieve their wayward dragon slayer, said slayer came crashing out of one of the windows and flew directly into Gray, the two bumping heads before crashing to the ground.

Erza slammed on the breaks so that the two girls could jump out and inspect the damages done to the two mages.

Natsu rubbed his head as he glared up at Lucy and Erza. "Owww…what's the deal guys? Why did you leave me on the train?"

"I apologize Natsu, I was to focused on our goal. But at the very least I'm glade that you're ok." Erza warmly said as she slammed Natsu's head into her chest for a hug, a loud dong echoing out as Natsu's skull as he made impact with her armor. However, her relief quickly turned to anger when Natsu spoke of how he had been attacked by a shadow user who had been holding a strange flute and who had been more than happy to reveal that he was a member of Eisenwald. Erza quickly smacked Natsu in the face for letting the enemy escape their grasp before ordering everyone back into the car, leaving Lucy to pick up the now once again unconscious Natsu.

Eventually their group managed to track the shadow mage to the town of Oshibana, where the entirety of Eisenwald had apparently taken over the local train station. Lucy watched as Erza questioned each station guard in turn before knocking each unconscious with a Erza interrogated each guard in turn, Lucy hefted Natsu over her shoulder and watched the red haired woman work and despite her best efforts was unable to determine why she was bothering to knock each person uncouncious. Perhaps she was just trying to get them out of the way when Lucy and the other inevetably entered the train station to attack the dark mages?

"Alright team, an Army unit went in already but no word has been received since they went in. As such we shall proceed in to the station ourselves in order to defeat Eisenwald." Erza commanded after knocking nearly every member of the station guards unconscious.

Lucy nodded her head once, her eyes narrowing in concentration and her hands reaching for her bow on her back. Even "It" was beginning to actively watch her surroundings for whatever "It" deemed to be a threat, further increasing Lucy's battle senses. The group moved into the train station at a quick pace, discovering unconscious members of the military as they explored the halls.

Eventually Lucy and the others came upon a massive hall, likely where civilians would be waiting to board their trains, and discovered over fifty mages waiting for them. Each mage grinned evilly as they watched the fairies enter, one man in particular laughing out loud as he balanced on a light post. Lucy only needed a single glance to tell that the man was Erigor, the ace of Eisenwald, as he was the only one in the chamber that contained anywhere near the amount of magic for "It" to register him as a threat.

"Welcome Fairy Tail flies, to our parlor of death!" Erigor manically laughed as he gestured to his men, his mages down bellow laughing along with him.

Erza however was not impressed by the wind mages antics. "You are Erigor? Tell us, what are your intentions with Lullaby! Why take control of this train station!" Erza shouted as she summoned a sword out of thin air.

"Tell me Fly, what do all train stations have?" Erigor mockingly questioned before leaping through the air and landing on a loudspeaker.

"You intend to broadcast it?! To kill the innocents of this town? Why drag the innocent civilians into this?" Erza screamed in rage, a look that was mirrored on Gray's Happy's and even Natsu's nauseous face.

"This is to be a cleansing of those who waste their rights while those who had their rights taken from them suffer in the shadows." Erigor monologued as he smiled arrogantly down at Erza and the others.

"…are you truly so ignorant?" Lucy quietly asked, drawing the attention of all present. "Even if you murder innocents, what you have lost will never return. The world isn't so kind as to make things fair just because it's what you desire." She mercilessly explained, her tone cold and cruel.

"Oh? And what would a pathetic fairy like you know about the real world?" Erigor angrily yelled, his men following suit as they screamed obscenities at Lucy.

Lucy turned her eyes down to the floor, her mind inadvertently turning back to a time she no longer wished to recall. "…more than you could ever know." She murmured quietly, hoping that no one could hear her.

Erigor of course couldn't hear her whisper and simply used his magic to levitate in mid air. "Whatever you foolish flies say doesn't matter at this point; we will deliver justice to those who waste away their rights. Unfortunately I cannot stay to deal with you myself; I shall have to just leave that joy for my men while I go deliver death to the unsuspecting fools who have gathered to watch." He said before laughing manically and disappearing from sight, likely using his wind magic to disguise his presence.

"Gray, Natsu; go after Erigor! Don't let him play the lullaby song!" Erza commanded the two mages. Both of who hesitated to glare at each other for a moment before Erza sent a glare of her own at the two of them, sending the two mages sprinting off into the building in fear. "Lucy, we will remain to deal with these foes."

"Understood… Oh indomitable spirit of the land, manifest your champion before me. Come forth Gaian!" Lucy shouted out, a brownlight appearing next to her as the spirit of the earth stepped through his gate. Lucy could see a slight look of surprise on Erza's face when Gaian first appeared but it quickly disappeared as she glared at the opponents before her.

"Milady…are these men before us our opponents for the day?" Gaian asked, the spirits eyes narrowing and one of his hands rubbing the handle of his mallet.

"Yes, if you would please." Lucy said as she drew the string back on her bow, an arrow of pale white magic appearing ready to fly.

For a heartbeat no one moved, each side feeling each other out, before the Eisenwald mage's began to charge with swords drawn or those in the back firing off their own spells. Lucy watched as Erza sprinted forward, another sword appearing in her empty hand as she intercepted the magic swordsman. Seeing that she had the melee situation under control, Lucy instead decided to focus her attacks on those that were providing fire support.

"Gaian, if you would." Lucy asked as she pointed her bow slightly upward. Gaian nodded and held out his open hand, his palm glowing with a faint brown light. The brown light suffused Lucy's bow, causing the pale light of her arrow to turn the same shade of light brown as well.

Lucy waited until the magic in the arrow was at its near maximum before releasing the arrow up over the heads of those locked in combat with Erza and instead aiming at the mages in the back of the room, the arrow whistling through the air as it sliced through the air. As the arrow traveled forward the normally purely magic arrow transformed into a bolt of sharpened rock and expanded outward until it appeared that a massive spear was flying through the air towards the Eisenwald mages who were far too slow to react to the attack.

However, rather than striking any mage in particular, the stone spear struck the ground directly in the center of the group of mages. The mages gave a look of relief at first, believing Lucy to have missed her mark, but that look turned into one of horror in the next moment when the spear seemed to bloom outward into even more stone spears that flew outwards and struck each mage, sending them flying in all directions.

" **Stone strike: Blooming destruction."** Lucy murmured under her breath as she watched the devastation her spell caused. She could feel the drain on her magic from casting both a unison raid with her spirit as well as one of Gaian's strongest attacks but it was well worth the cost based purely off of the number of now unconscious mages in the room, "It" expressed its displeasure with the fact that she did not kill them outright but the oath she swore bound her hands, keeping the fools away from an early grave.

However, due to Lucy's overwhelming attack, now a good deal of the Eisenwald mages had now turned around and were now charging Lucy with weapons draw, clearly realizing the threat that a magical sniper posed. And despite the five or so people who were now charging at her, neither Lucy nor Gaian intended to allow the men to take a swing at them.

Gaian moved forward and in a single motion drew his hammer and sung it into the ground. The mallet striking the polished floor with a loud gong and sending an immense vibration through the floor, causing most of the men to collapse from the tremors. Lucy waited until the men were completely off balance before releasing magical arrows at their heads, striking each with uncanny precision and removing them from combat.

When Lucy finished dispatching her foes, she turned her sights to Erza in an attempt to aid the older woman but found an interesting sight instead. Erza had somehow changed her outfit into an armor that resembled a silver angle with blades flying in a circle around her. the scarlet haired mage was making quick work of her remaining opponents, her blades mere flashes of light as the struck down man after man faster than they could react.

"Requiping?" Lucy questioned out loud as she watched Erza fight.

"Yep! But a very special requip." Happy answered as he walked up to Lucy. "Erza's able to not only change her weapons but her armor as well, giving her the ability to switch to wizarding armor on the fly whenever she needs it. She calls it "The Knight"."

Lucy watched in awe as Erza finished off her final opponent.  _She's a fearsome mage…powerful enough to the point that I probably couldn't beat her as I am now. I'll have to be wary of her during my time in Fairy Tail._  Lucy couldn't help but think to herself as she curtsied to Gaian, dismissing the spirit and thanking him for his aid.

Erza was already tying up mages when Lucy approached, a warm smile on her face when she noticed Lucy and Happy. "Good job Lucy, I'm quite impressed with your skills. You'll be a welcome addition to Fairy Tail."

"Thank you Erza, I'm happy to hear that."

"Aye, Lucy's super strong and super weird. She's perfect for Fairy Tail!" Happy chimed in, causing Erza to chuckle and Lucy to stare blankly at the cat.

"Regardless, I would like you to pursue the mages that fled from this battle." Erza commanded as she gestured to a hallway that a chubby mage had fled down after Lucy had unleashed her spell.

"Understood, would you like to come with me Happy?"

"Aye!" the blue cat answered as he trotted behind Lucy, the two making their way out of the chamber.

* * *

Natsu yelled in anger as he threw his body at the wind barrier that had been erected around the station. He had failed to find Erigor but instead had been attacked by the same asshole who had attacked him on the train, giving Natsu the perfect chance to take out some anger on the unfortunate shadow mage.

He had of course trashed the guy, but after beating him he only learned something that pissed him off all the more. Apparently the true target of these bastards was the old man and all the other guild masters currently in Clover and that this whole station battle had been nothing more than a way to keep their team trapped and unable to interfere while Erigor went ahead.

Erza and Ice nuts had shown up, saying that they could use the shadow freak to break the barrier and let them out but before they could even force the guys hand his guildmate showed up and tried to kill the guy, leaving a sour taste in Natsu's mouth. Didn't these guys know that a guild was a family? Were they really so far gone that they would just betray their own just to kill a bunch old men?

Natsu's body only made contact with the barrier for a second before he was forcefully repulsed, sending his body flying backwards and slicing thin cuts into his arms due to the speed of the wind.

"Damn it, we've got to save Makarov!" Natsu shouted as he jumped back onto his feet and readied himself for another charge at the barrier. However, before he could take a single step a soft but firm hand latched onto his arm and stopped him in his tracks.

Natsu turned his head to see Lucy, her normally expressionless eyes staring at him with an emotion Natsu couldn't quite identify but what looked almost like regret. "I understand Natsu, but if you kill yourself trying to get out you will only bring the Master more pain. No one wants to know that others died for their sake." She quietly said before turning to Gray and speaking to him about any way that they could try to escape rather than brute forcing their way out.

Natsu looked down at Lucy's hand, a hand that was still firmly wrapped around his arm, as his thoughts went back to the moments before the fighting broke out and what he had overheard Lucy whisper, something that he was certain the others had missed but his enhanced senses had easily picked up on.

Natsu had never liked to hear pain in his family's voices and Lucy was no exception. Normally he would just remove whatever was causing his comrades pain, usually with a healthy dose of fire, but this time whatever pain Lucy was in was something much more complicated than a sleazy guy trying to hit on her or even a dark mage, her pain was something he couldn't understand without her opening up.

 _Maybe, if I get the chance, I could ask her spirits about it. They seem like they've known her for a lot longer._ Natsu thought grimly before a sudden realization overcame him.

"Lucy! Your spirits! We can use that pink haired spirit to break us out of here!" Natsu shouted as he grabbed the blonde's shoulders, an ecstatic look on his face.

Unfortunately, Lucy's downcast face dashed his new found hope. "I can't Natsu, Cybele is still to weak to pass through her own gate. And even if she was strong enough, I have already opened a pathway to the earthen realm today. I can't bring any more powerful earth spirits out for awhile." Lucy explained.

Natsu's let his head fall, the feeling of defeat threatening to overcome him, and his eyes fell upon the silver bracer that adorned Lucy's right hand and the gems that decorated it. He looked at the armband for a second before he noticed that one of the filled slots had a carving of a tornado next to it, and a tornado was just a bunch of wind right?

"What about your wind spirits?" Natsu asked as he grabbed the armband and held it up, the green orb glowing slightly as if it recognized it was the focus of the conversation. "You can summon wind spirits still right?"

Natus could see Lucy bite the inside of her cheek, her eyes shifting away almost as if she was ashamed. "I can…but I don't have any contracts with any powerful wind spirits. I doubt that a lesser spirit can break through this barrier."

"We've got to try Lucy! We're the only hope that Gramps and the others have." Natsu pleaded, shaking Lucy slightly and drawing her gaze back to his own.

"Lucy, if we have even the slightest chance we have to take it. It's the Fairy Tail way." Erza said from right behind Natsu where she was tending to the shadowy assholes wounds.

"They're right Lucy, Fairy Tail always finds a way and doesn't give up, no matter what happens." The Stripper added.

Lucy didn't say anything as she shut her eyes for a moment, seeming to weigh her options, before opening them with a new found determination. "Alright, I'll try." Was all she said as she moved forward, her left hand gripping the silver bracer tightly. "If I'm able to do this, I'll only be able to hold it open for just a moment. So no matter what, if I manage this you cant stop moving until you get outside the barrier, understood?" Lucy asked as she stared backwards at Natsu and the others.

"Alright Lucy, we'll be through in a second." Gray confidently bragged, cracking his knuckles as if he was about to pick a fight.

"Indeed, no mere wind wall will stop us." Erza confirmed as she hoisted the Unconscious shadow mage over a shoulder.

Lucy nodded at the two before looking to Natsu with a look of…fear? Natsu wasn't sure what she was afraid of, or if there was anything he could do to help her conquer that fear, but for now all he could do for her was give her a massive grin and hope that some of his confidence rubbed off on her.

Natsu could see Lucy return the grin for a moment before she turned back to the wind wall and held her hands in front of her chest and clasped them together almost as if in prayer, a green light slowly suffusing her surroundings.

"Spirits of air…please hear my call and come forth…" Lucy murmured, her hands clenching even tighter as she prayed.

For a second, nothing happened, and the only sound was the roaring wind. However, slowly but surely the green glow gathered in front of Lucy's hands and Natsu could feel a gentle breeze flowing throughout the area. Somehow, despite not begin able to see anything different, Natsu could tell that a spirit had answered her call. That the wind had answered her pleas.

Natsu looked at Lucy's face, expecting her face to be ecstatic at the fact that she had called out a spirit, but instead only saw anxiety darkening her features.

"Please…" she murmured quietly, so quiet that only Natsu's enhanced senses would have been able to hear her.

Natsu was about to question what she was so worried about, but before he could Lucy opened her eyes, took a deep breath, and charged forward silently. Natsu's eyes widened in surprise and began to move forward. He wasn't sure why Lucy thought she could break through with force if he couldn't and Natsu had no desire to see her get hurt like he had.

But before Natsu could get to her, Lucy's body crashed into the wind wall. But instead of being thrown aside like a piece of trash in the wind she instead passed right through it. Natsu's mouth opened in shock; a look that he was sure Erza, Gray and Happy were wearing at that exact moment.

"Lucy!" Natsu shouted still moving forward to the spot she had disappeared into, intending to force his way through and help the blonde elemental summoner. But before he could even get a hand on the chaotic winds the barrier before him disappeared.

Natsu was now standing right in front of what appeared to be a wind tunnel leading to the outside. Inside the tunnel, around halfway through, Natsu could see Lucy standing with both her hands outstretched, a look of concentration and strain twisting her features.

"…Go now! What are you waiting for?" Lucy shouted as her hands were forced closer to her body, the wind tunnel beginning to close as her arms got closer and closer to her body.

Natsu hesitated for a second before sprinting forward, refusing to waste the chance that his partner was giving them. He moved through the tunnel faster than he ever ran, even faster than when he had to run from Erza when he managed to piss her off, and could hear the footsteps of Gray and Erza right behind him.

When Natsu reached the point of the tunnel that Lucy was standing in he debated whether or not he should just grab her arm and drag her out as well. But after seeing the strain on her face he decided that touching her would only break her concentration, leaving them trapped in the center of the barrier.

Natsu emerged from the barrier and instantly had to steady himself against the roaring wind now trying to throw him off his feet. Natsu could hear Gray Erza and Happy emerge a second later, each of their breaths ragged from the nervousness of sprinting though a tunnel of raging winds.

When he emerged from the tunnel Natsu turned back around hoping to see Lucy running to meet them. But to his confusion she was still standing in the center of the tunnel, her arms getting closer and closer to her body and the tunnel closing more and more in response.

"Lucy! Get out of there!" Natsu shouted hoping that he managed to keep the nervousness he felt out of his voice.

Lucy looked into Natsu's eyes, her mouth forming a small smile, a smile that only made Natsu's heart leap into his throat. Natsu jumped forward, intending to go back into the tunnel and get the blonde back himself, but before he could Lucy's arms collapsed back to her sides, the wind tunnel closing instantly and cutting off their brief connection.

Natsu watched in horror as the faint outline of Lucy's body was thrown mercilessly through the air, a cloud of red surrounding her as her body was sent through the air like a rag doll.

"LLLUUUUCCCYYYYY!" Natsu shouted as he prepared to run back into the barrier, his panic only growing worse when he could no longer see her outline through the wind. But before he could take a step a strong hand grabbed his shoulder.

"You can't Natsu, that wind will rip you apart." Erza reminded, her own face filled with concern for their blonde companion.

"She's hurt Erza! She was right in the middle of it when it closed on her and she got hurt!" Natsu shouted as he struggled against the red haired mages grip.

"…Natsu…" Lucy's faint voice seemed to echo from the other side of the barrier, causing all four mages to whip their heads up and stare at the wall of wind.

"Lucy! You alright in there?" Natsu asked with relief in his voice.

"I've…been better…but that doesn't matter right now. You all need to go after Erigor. Don't let him hurt our family." Lucy's voice continued to echo, the pain she was in clearly evident in her tone.

"Lucy's right Natsu, we need to go." Erza commanded as she moved briskly to the car they had stashed nearby.

"Luceee…" Happy wined from Natsu's side, concern clear on his face.

"I'll be ok Happy... I'll catch up with you all soon."

"You'd better Lucy! Or I'm coming back to drag you home!" Natsu shouted, hearing Lucy's chuckle from within the barrier.

"Under…stood" She eventually replied, a spike of pain apparently interrupting her words.

Natsu clenched his jaw and turned away from the wind. His determination and anger heating the air around him. He squatted down next to Happy and whispered quietly so that Gray and Erza couldn't hear them. "Happy, feel like giving me a lift?" Natsu asked with a feral grin on his face.

"Aye sir." Happy replied, a grin of his own forming on the cats face.

Natsu stood back up and turned to stare at the wind barrier for a moment longer. He would be dammed if he let Lucy's sacrifice be in vain. He was going to beat the shit out of the shirtless scythe dude, and crush that damn flute under his flaming foot.

* * *

Lucy coughed loudly as she tried to clear her throat of blood, already having given up on moving out of the growing pool of blood that was forming beneath her. The wind barrier had been more vicious than she had been expecting, the blades of wind slicing though her flesh with such speed that rather then pain she felt an almost chilling sensation from her wounds. She knew that she was likely going to have to use a wind spirit to force open the barrier even before Natsu mentioned it, and everything that came of it was exactly as she feared would happen. the wind spirit she summoned was only around the level of a lesser spirit, with no real consciousness to speak of and only a small amount of power. Lucy had been forced to compensate for the lack of energy by coiling the wind around her body and flinging herself at the wind wall. unfortunately the moment the spirit was forced home the winds had torn into her like a pack of wolves and now she was paying the price for her recklessness.

Lucy wanted nothing more than to sigh in annoyance, but the ever increasing amount of blood in her throat made that increasingly difficult. Although, there was one thing that was fortunate, none of the people she had recently come to care about were present to see her like this. Now the only thing left to do was wait.

It took her body a few minutes, but eventually "It" realized that she was beginning to lose too much blood and deciding to activate the weave.

Lucy groaned loudly as she stared down at her bleeding waist, feeling "It" cut off the pain receptors throughout her body so that the weave could begin to work. Slowly but surely, the black lines that marked the activation of the weave began to snake their way underneath her skin, slowly making their way towards the wounds that crossed her chest and stomach that were by far the worst she had suffered. The black lines eventually reached their destinations all across her chest and Lucy could feel the telltale drop in her magical levels that meant that the weave had begun to repair the cuts, starting with the most life threatening and working its way down until her flesh was back to battle ready condition.

With the pain already cut off and her magic levels dropping dangerously low, Lucy was forced to simply rest on her back and stare up into the blue sky as she waited for the weave to finish working. She would have to suppress the weave after a certain amount of wounds had been healed, as she was certain that Natsu had seen her get wounded the moment the tunnel had closed and showing up with perfect health would only arouse suspicion.

"I must say…you are quite interesting compared to the last user that I contracted with." An amused male voice said with a chuckle from Lucy's side.

Lucy turned her head slowly to see a pale skinned, brown haired man crouching next to Lucy, a sympathetic look on his face as he slowly examined Lucy's body. The man was tall, almost as tall as Elfman but not nearly as muscular, and was dressed in a long coat that was covered in animal furs. In the man's hands was a guitar far different than anything Lucy had ever seen, its texture different than any material that Lucy had ever seen before.

Lucy tried to sit up but her arms refused to work properly, the numbness caused by the weave working making it difficult to move. Instead she simply smiled up at the man. "Hello there, I assume that the fact that you're here and by the feeling of your magic that you are a wind spirit correct? Have you come here to form a contract with me?"

"I am indeed my dear, I am the spirit of the free flowing wind, Anu, and I must say it is a pleasure to finally meet the contractor that has been the source of all the rumors in the elemental realms as of late." The man said with a bow and a chuckle. "While this might not be the most proper time to conduct our business, I do believe that we should work out our contract details right now. After all, it doesn't appear that you will be going anywhere anytime soon."

Lucy and Anu continued to work out the details of their contract long after Lucy's weave finished sealing up the wounds that had nearly killed her and "It" allowing her nerves to reconnect. And it was only a few minutes after Anu left that the wind barrier dispersed, leaving Lucy standing in the now nearly deserted city.

Lucy quickly moved through the town and, upon discovering a military station, used their medical supplies to treat her remaining injuries mainly a large gash across her forehead forcing her to cover her right eye in bandages and enough cuts across her arms to completely cover them in so many bandages that she could no longer see the flesh of her arms. When Lucy finally finished wrapping her injuries she proceeded to borrow a magic car of her own, intending to catch up with the rest of her team in Clover.

Lucy had never actually driven a car herself, but even with her limited skills it didn't take long for her to reach Clover. However, as she approached that night, she was greeted with a sight that caused her to pause for a good minute or so. Off in the distance standing near the Clover meeting hall was a massive wooden creature that stood as tall as a mountain that Lucy was fairy certain was the unsealed form of Lullaby. The strange creature was swinging its massive arms around almost like it was trying to swat at group of flies, flies that Lucy eventually determined to be the rest of her team attempting to fend the monster off.

"Oh wow, that's quite the demon isn't it Lucy?" Nyneve commented from Lucy's side.

"Nyneve? You shouldn't enter this realm on your own power; it can cause your spiritual form damage." Lucy commented without removing her eyes from the demon but her voice laced with concern for one of her closest spirits.

"It's fine Lucy, so long as I don't do it so often I'll be fine. I am a greater spirit after all." Nyneve said with a dismissal wave of her hand, her own eyes also watching the demon. "But still, I wasn't expecting to see a demon of Zeref out in the open like this. Didn't you tell me that you never wanted to see these things in person?"

"…I really don't, but at the end of the day it's one of the things that I was "designed" for." Lucy said, her words dripping with anger. "But despite my distaste for them I can't just let my team fight it by themselves." Lucy said as she turned to Nyneve. "Would you mind lending me your powers Nyneve?"

Nyneve's eyes widened in surprise as Lucy's and her own magic began to meld together even before she had given Lucy permission. "I still don't understand how you're able to do this, combining our magic like this, but of course i will Lucy. I am always willing to lend you my strength."

Lucy nodded and turned back to face the demon. Lucy reached for the bow on her back and pointed it directly at the demon, Nyneve mirroring her movements down to the letter. Lucy began to breathe deeply and focus her magic into the bow but did not draw the string like she would normally, her magic instead focusing into the string itself.

Lucy waited until Nyneve's magic began to fuse with her own and at the head of her bow an orb of water began to swirl into existence at the tip of her bow. Lucy's and Nyneve's eyes met for a second, the two women confirming the timing of their attack in the brief exchange of glances. And then, moving as one, Lucy drew her bowstring back while Nyneve pretended to pull back on a bowstring as well, mirroring Lucy's movements perfectly.

Lucy held the bow string tightly as the water at the tip of the bow continued to swirl faster and faster while even more water collected until it was bigger than Lucy's head. Lucy braced against the two swirling magic's she was trying to control, the sheer force of which was causing her feet to almost give out but Lucy was still manage to hold on. It was at that point that the demon seemed to become aware of the magic she was gathering and turned to face her and appeared to be preparing an attack of its own as its three eyes began to gleam with a red light.

However it was too late, Lucy's and Nyneve's spell was already complete. As the magic reached its critical mass both Lucy and Nyneve turned their eyes to the demon, " **Unison Raid Water Strike: Heavens Stream!"** They shouted as one and Lucy released the magic, the sphere of water taking the shape of an arrow as it cut through the sky.

As with the last arrow this one kept its shape for a brief time as it moved across the sky, but as it neared the demon a change overcame it. The water arrow expanded in size far beyond the stone spear from before. It grew and grew until it looked almost as if a raging river was flying through the sky. The sound was deafening, almost like a waterfall of immense size was surrounding everyone, as the stream of water flew through the sky. The demon tried to move out of the way of the water but it was far too slow and the water moved almost like a snake lashing out at its prey, striking the demon in the center of its chest and rather than passing around it piercing right through it.

The moment the water passed through the demon both Lucy and Nyneve raised their left hands, their palms open as if they were holding something in their hands. "And now… **Watery Grave!** " the two shouted as they clenched their hands.

The water reacted instantly, lifting up the now flailing demon high into the air until it was hovering up above even the surrounding mountains. The water then began to enter into the demons now pierced chest, almost like water flowing from a water nozzle in reverse, until nothing supported the demon. However, before the demon could even begin to fall, the highly compressed water pierced through its head and sliced the wooden creature cleanly in half.

Lucy fell to her knees, her breath ragged, as the demon fell back down to earth in two clean halves. "that…was a lot more magical energy than I thought it would cost." Lucy managed to comment in between breaths. While Nyneve and Lucy had theorized the spell and practiced it numerous times this was the first actual time that Lucy had used both Heavens Stream and Watery Grave in tandem and the shear quantity of magical energy it took was enough to give any normal mage magical deficiency.

"Indeed, even my connection to this world has grown tenuous after such an attack." Nyneve said, her own breath slightly disturbed. "I'm afraid I shall require some time to recover in the realm of water."

"Of course, thank you for your aid Nyneve." Lucy replied with a bow of her head, her water spirit disappearing in a blue glow.

The moment Lucy recovered enough to move she made her way to where the demon had fallen to find the guild masters along with the Master and her team waiting for her, shocked looks on nearly all their faces.

Lucy stopped a few feet away and bowed. "Greetings Master, it is good to see you unharmed."

"Lucy…was that last attack your doing?" Master Makarov questioned, his eyes still wide in surprise.

"Well specifically it was both mine and a greater water spirit by the name of Nyneve's attack but yes it was."

The master looked like he was about to say something more, but before he could Natsu ran forward, his eyes narrowing as he inspected Lucy's body.

"Lucy…you're hurt…" He murmured quietly as he looked into Lucy's one exposed eye before looking down at her bandaged arms, his eyes going wide. "And you're bleeding even now!"

Lucy looked down at her hands to see that her fingers on her right hand were bleeding, the strain of the spell breaking the skin on her fingers. "Ah…didn't expect that. I guess the strain of the spell was a little much." Lucy commented as she fished some more bandages out of her bag, intending to finish bandaging her hand.

But before she could Natsu snatched the roll of bandages from her hands an annoyed look on his face. "Here, I'll take care of that." He declared and before she could say anything started to bandage her fingers, his face scrunched in concentration.

"That was a most impressive spell Lucy, but I was under the impression that you were a summoner. How did you manage to use a water spell of such size?" Master Makarov asked as he walked up to stare up at his new child.

"Mmmm…well I've always been able to borrow the power of my spirits so long as they mirror the actions of my attack and agree to lend me their strength." Lucy explained as Natsu continued to tend to her fingers.

"Wait…a Unison Raid?" the Master clarified with a shocked look on his face.

"That's what my spirits call it…why? Is it something strange?" Lucy questioned with her head cocked to the side.

"Not so much strange but…no never mind." Makarov dismissed with a shake of his head before smiling up at Lucy. "In any case, I am quite surprised at your strength, my dear; I would have never thought that someone as dense as Natsu here would have brought such a talented mage to our family."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Natsu indignantly yelled as he finished clumsily tying off Lucy's bandages and turned to glare at the tiny mage.

"Shut up Flametard, but holy hell Lucy remind me not to piss you off. Don't want you throwing a river at me." A shirtless Gray joked as he and Erza moved to stand behind Makarov, Happy hovering just off Natsu's shoulder.

"I cannot actually throw the river Gray, rather the arrow I fire transforms into the river." Lucy clarified as she flexed her now bound fingers.

Gray grimaced slightly as he stared at Lucy. "No I didn't mean that literally…but you know Lucy, you don't take jokes very well."

Lucy nodded slightly, a remorseful look on her face. "I apologize for that Gray, it is something I have been told before and have tried to improve upon."

"Gray; it is inappropriate to point out your comrades faults, and it is particularly inappropriate to point out a woman's faults." Erza chastised with her arms crossed over her chest.

"It's true Gray, even Natsu knows better than to do that."Happy commented with slow shake of his head.

"Ok you can all stop now." Gray half yelled, an annoyed look on his face.

"Hah, serves you right stripper."

"Wanna repeat that Pinky?"

Lucy blinked as she watched the two boys begin to brawl, not quite sure what had brought on the fight. And only looked away when a military official approached their little group.

"Master Makarov of Fairy Tail correct? We need to speak to you about damages caused by your mages in defense of the city." The man said with a stern frown on his face.

"Of course sir, let me just speak to my team to get our facts in order." Makarov said with a nervous look as he grew his hand to smack Natsu and Gray on the head, stopping their little brawl. "Alright Brats…we're going to run."

Lucy couldn't even get the chance to ask what the Master meant before her unbloodied hand was grabbed by Natsu, the Fire mage dragging her through the air as he sprinted away from the now yelling military man.

"Common Lucy! We gotta get out of here!" He yelled with his usual grin, Lucy mimicking his smile as well, their job was complete and no casualties were inflicted. A complete victory in Lucy's book.


	6. Solomon's Child

Natsu and Happy Ran and flew through the streets of Magnolia as they made their way towards Fairy Hills. It had been two days since they had beat the shit out of Eisenwald and Lucy had finally moved into her new room which the two Fairy Tail mages were on their way to at that moment. Lucy hadn't shown up at the guild at her usual time and Mira had sent Natsu to check up on her, giving him permission to enter the forbidden territory that was Fairy Hills and check up on her.

Natsu's face twisted into a growl as he recalled his wounded partner. He had been beyond pissed when Lucy had casually walked up to their group back in Clover with both her arms and her left eye covered in bandages and her fingers actively bleeding. He was never one to put up with the sight of his family being injured and especially when it was because of something Natsu had done. If he hadn't asked Lucy to take down the barrier she wouldn't have suffered any of those wounds. She had insisted that she was fine afterwards but Natsu noticed that she would occasionally flinch when she stretched her arms wrong or that her hands would shake slightly when she held something. To Natsu it was clear as day that she was still feeling the pain from her injuries but Natsu was certain that no one else had noticed her pain.

So if Lucy was going to suffer because of Natsu's mistake then the least he could do was help her out until she was back at one hundred percent, even if that meant braving Erza's wrath to wake her up in the morning.

When Natsu and Happy reached the large building that was the female dormitory neither bothered to go right for the door. Mira had mentioned that Lucy's room was the very last one on the second floor so neither felt the need to go through the building in order to reach her; it was simpler after all to just go through her window.

"Up and at'em Luce! time to get to get to the guild!" Natsu shouted cheerily as he opened her window and referred to her by a new nickname he had thought up for her, Happy hovering just off to the side with his own cheery grin.

However Natsu's grin didn't last long when he saw Lucy. She was sitting against a wall with her head down and her eyes closed, her breathing telling Natsu that she was still asleep despite how uncomfortable she looked. Her skin was covered in sweat and her face was twisted in pain, a look that Natsu could understand easily enough.

She was suffering from a nightmare.

"Luce! Oi, wake up! Its not real!" Natsu shouted as he jumped inside and gently but forcefully shook Lucy's shoulders. Happy flew inside and was hovering just behind Natsu, a look of concern on his face.

Natsu was about to shout again in hopes of waking her up but before he could her eyes snapped open and met Natsu's own with a look of fear and anxiety.

"…Natsu?" she confirmed quietly and looked around, her eyes focusing more and more as time went on.

"Ya it's me, you ok Luce? You're looking pretty pale?" Natsu questioned his hand going up to Lucy's forehead to check her temperature.

"I…I'm fine, just an old memory coming back to haunt me." Lucy murmured quietly as she shut her eyes for a moment, her face filled with unspoken pain.

"Lucy…" Happy murmured sadly as he flew down into Lucy's lap, his big black eyes staring up at her almost on the verge of tears.

Lucy didn't say anything more; she simply placed a hand on the small cats head and began to gently pet him, earning a satisfied purr from said cat.

Natsu satisfied that the blonde girl was fine but slightly disappointed she hadn't confined in him about what her nightmare was, stood up and looked around at Lucy's room, curious about how Lucy decorated her space.

But when he looked around he only grew more and more confused. "Umm…Luce? Why don't you have any furniture or stuff?"

Lucy's room was completely barren, only the pale walls and the white carpet visible. There wasn't a single thing in the room that would show that someone was currently living in it.

Lucy tilted her head and blinked slowly in confusion. "What are you talking about Natsu? I have all my stuff right here." She answered as she patted the bag at her side.

"No not that, I mean like a bed or couch or something?"

"Why would I need something like that? It's ineffective to sleep lying down as you cannot react fast enough if someone attacks you." Lucy explained like it was something completely obvious.

"No, well…that doesn't sound right." Natsu stammered as he tried to put his thoughts together. Weren't women supposed to care about owning clothes and stuff like that? "Eh, ill just let Mira handle it. Anyway Luce, it's time to go to the guild so get up and let's get going!" Natsu said with a shrug at first before breaking out into a smile.

"Understood." Lucy said as she stood up with Happy still in her hands, a faint smile on her lips as she followed Natsu out her window.

* * *

The moment the three teammates walked through the door Mira instantly greeted them, her usual smile on her face. "Hey Lucy, did Happy and Natsu get you up ok? They didn't do anything weird right?"

"What are you talking about Mira? Lucy's the only one who does weird stuff here." Natsu deadpanned as he leapt through the air at Gray, screaming something about fighting.

Both Mira and Lucy ignored Natsu though, as Lucy made her way to the counter following the scent of a warm breakfast.

"Are you alright Lucy? You're looking a little haggard this morning." Mira commented worriedly as she handed Lucy a plate of food

"mmmm…I didn't have a great night sleep." Lucy answered in between bites, her focus primarily on her food.

"Oh that's right! Mira, you need to talk to Lucy about how strange she really is." Natsu said as he abandoned his fight with Gray and jumped over to the counter.

"What's this about Natsu?" Mira questioned a curious look on her face.

"Lucy here dosent have anything! Her room is completely bare and I couldn't sneak any snacks when I went to wake her up!" Natsu said as he gestured to Lucy, the blonde mage frowning at the accusation.

"What are you talking about Natsu? I have all my belongings right here." She explained again as she patted her bag.

Natsu sighed in defeat while Mira's eyes widened as she stared at Lucy. Mira had never noticed it before but Lucy always wore either the white dress that she had first joined in or Mira's old outfit that she had given to her, did she not own anything else?

"Lucy honey, what about other clothes? Or a bed and stuff, do you not want to have a normal home?"

Lucy blinked slowly as she tried to work out what Mira was asking. "I don't quite get it, but I've never had anything more than what I have on me right now. So I don't know what exactly comes in a "normal home"." Lucy explained as she took a sip of water, completely oblivious to the shocked faces around her.

However, before Lucy could say anything more, a pair of arms wrapped around her head and pulled her into a hug. Mira had moved so quickly around the counter that Lucy hadn't even noticed her and had grabbed Lucy's head in a bone crushing hug.

"Oh Lucy, I'm so sorry…I knew that you didn't have a family but I had no idea that your childhood was so lacking." Mira said with tears in the corners of her eyes. "But now that your part of our family you can have anything you want. In fact, why don't we go out and buy you some new clothes and furniture right now!" She declared with a clap of her hands and a smile back on her face.

"Indeed, shopping is the greatest way for a woman to spend her day." Erza declared from slightly farther down the bar, clearly having eavesdropped on the conversation. Erza had been quite impressed by Lucy's display of both physical skill and magical capacity on their last mission and had only become more intrigued when she learned that there was a connection between her hand the dragons. What better way to get to know the girl more than to go shopping with her?

"Its decided then, we can have a girls shopping day! And Natsu here can carry our bags for us." Mira announced as she grabbed Natsu's shoulder, preventing him from fleeing. "You'll come with us right?"

"W-why do I have to go? Didn't you just say it was supposed to be a girls shopping day?" Natsu asked, trying his hardest to get out of a day that as sure to be boring.

"Don't say that Natsu, if you accompany us we can have that duel afterwards." Erza said with a smile.

"And plus Natsu, aren't you her partner? Isn't it your job to help her out?" Bisca commented with a smile as she approached, clearly interested in a day of shopping.

"No buts Natsu, it is your duty as a man to carry our luggage. Now stop complaining and follow!" Erza commanded in a no nonsense tone, shutting down Natsu's escape routes.

"Ummm…don't I get a say in this?" Lucy tentatively asked, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the other woman's excitement at the thought of

"Nope, not at all." Mira and Erza said with a smile as they grabbed Lucy's hands and began to drag her along, the women of Fairy Tail and following close behind.

* * *

Lucy sighed as she walked out of the changing room wearing a light blue miniskirt and white tank top to hear the sounds of Levy squealing in delight, as the small blue haired girl was the one who had chosen her current outfit.

All day she had been dragged from store to store buying furniture of all shapes and designs. Lucy hadn't cared at all at what everyone wanted her to buy but the other women had been adamant about their respective choices. Even Natsu who had been entirely disinterested all day chimed in at one point to force Lucy into buying a queen sized bed, claiming that it would come in handy later. Natsu had been forced to follow after them with his hands filled with bags, his face a scowl the entire time.

Lucy just couldn't understand it, why bother to buy such nice stuff when one would be forced to abandon it at a moment's notice? Plus it wasn't that bad to sleep with your back to a wall, it was something Lucy had done all her life and without sleeping in upright position she couldn't react as fast to attackers when they inevitably showed up.

But in the end she had been forced to abandon her questions under the forceful stares of Mira and Erza. The two older women had to simply stare at her for a moment before both she and "It" would cave under the pressure.

Their group was now in the process of buying Lucy new clothes, as it had come to light that Lucy owned no other clothes besides the dress and the black tank top and skirt that Mira had gifted to her.

"Oh wow Lucy! Blue is definitely your color!" Levy exclaimed as she danced around Lucy, examining Lucy's outfit.

Lucy herself had no real opinion herself about whether or not the clothes suited her so she merely nodded in response to her friend's words before being handed the next outfit, which appeared to be a Lolita style dress that Mira had been gushing about.

Lucy walked back into the changing room and began trying on the dress when Levy started to ask something from outside. "You know, I get that we're all having fun dressing up Lucy, but how are we going to pay for this? Its not like the guild can pay for all of Lucy's stuff."

"That's not a concern; open the outside pocket of my bag." Lucy passively replied as she worked her way into the dress.

Lucy could heal the muffled sound of people going through her bag and in the next moment the sound of people in shock echoed throughout the store.

"L-Lucy! Why do you have so much money on you?" Mira questioned in surprise.

Within Lucy's bag was a unspeakable amount of jewels, enough so that Lucy had enough to pay for all the furniture, all the clothes they had piled up for her, and still have enough left over for her to buy whatever she desired.

"I don't have anywhere else to keep it and it's safer on me than in my room." Lucy calmly explained as she struggled with the zipper.

"But how exactly did you obtain such an extreme amount of currency?" Erza asked from behind the curtain.

"Every once and awhile a group of older gentlemen take me into a private room after binding my legs and arms, ask me things that cannot be spoken about in public, and release me with a large quantity of Jewels in exchange for my silence."

The entire store went dead quiet at Lucy's explanation except for the sound of Lucy rummaging through the clothes and upon finishing, throwing aside the curtain to show off the outfit.

However, instead of the sounds of people telling her how she looked, she instead found nearly every person staring at her with complex stares.

"Lucy…you have not sold your purity have you?" Erza asked in a dark tone, her eyes staring at Lucy with a disapproving glare.

Lucy merely blinked in confusion as she stared back at the older woman. "I'm not sure what you're talking about Erza. Is purity something you can sell?"

"Well…it's…not something that should be spoken about in public places." Erza mumbled with a heavy blush and averted her eyes.

Lucy tilted her head and turned her gaze at Levy, who squeaked and looked away as well.

"Hell Lucy, gotta admit, I respect you a hell of a lot more knowing you get paid this much from a bunch of old geezers." Cana complimented as she slapped Lucy on the back, only further increasing Lucy's confusion.

Erza coughed loudly to clear the heavy atmosphere, drawing all gazes to her. "Well regardless, we will discuss this more later. In the mean time, I believe that I have a fight with Natsu to get under way so why don't we cut the shopping off here for the day. After all I believe that Natsu has suffered enough."

* * *

Lucy watched curiously as all the members of Fairy Tail gathered outside the guild and circled around Erza and Natsu, the crowd yelling at them to get on with the fight. After dropping of Lucy's new belongings in the back of the guild Natsu hadn't stopped grinning at the prospect of battling against Erza, his fists already covered in flames.

"Beat the shit out him Erza!" Gray shouted from Lucy's side, a wide grin on his face at the prospect of seeing Natsu getting beaten half to death.

"Aren't two members of the strongest team in Fairy Tail fighting against each other bad for our team dynamics?" Lucy questioned as she watched members of Fairy Tail start placing bets on who would win.

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about Lucy? What dumbass told you that?" Gray questioned with an incredulous expression on his face.

Lucy pointed at Mira, who instantly started crying at what Gray said and causing the shirtless mage to begin to panic at the woman's tears.

However Lucy's attention was drawn back to the fight the moment the Master shouted out the signal to begin. The two mages became blurs of motion as they rushed at each other and exchanged blows. Lucy could tell right off the bat that Erza held the advantage, her flame empress armor giving her an edge over Natsu's flames. But Lucy knew better than most that for a dragon slayer being at a disadvantage in a fight was just part of the job description.

The fight continued to go back and forth, jets of flame shooting out at the onlooker's ocasinally, when both Erza and Natsu backed away for a second to glare at each other. Lucy could tell just from their facial expressions that both intended to end the battle in the next blow, their respective flames flaring almost as if in anticipation, before both launched at each other with a speed beyond that which they showed previously.

However, before either could land their blows, a loud clap echoed throughout the area. Everyone, including Lucy, turned to stare at an upright frog walking up to the entirety of Fairy Tail and was flanked by a full platoon of Rune Knights.

"Attention Mages of Fairy Tail! Cease your fighting this instant! Is a mage by the name of Lucy present at this time?" The frog asked in an authoritative tone.

"Mmm, I'm right here." Lucy said as she raised a hand and moved to the front of the crowd.

"Very well then, Miss Lucy, you are hereby under arrest for the destruction of the Clover assembly hall." The frog announced as it gestured to the rune knights behind it, who moved forward with magical binding cuffs and staffs at the ready.

"What the Hell?!" Natsu shouted as he moved to stand in front of Lucy, the rest of the guild shouting in outrage as well.

However Lucy wasn't the least bit surprised by what the frog thingy had said, she had been expecting this from the moment she let the water arrow fly. She placed a hand on Natsu's shoulder, drawing a concerned gaze from the dragon slayer. She smiled slightly at the pink haired mage before stepping forward with a passive look on her face.

"I understand."

The Rune Knights walked forward and instantly bound Lucy's arms in both rope and a magical sealing cuffs, causing Lucy's magic to completely disappear. Another man moved forward with both a gag and a blindfold in his hands.

"We have been ordered to bind both your sight and mouth as well." The man explained before placing the blindfold over Lucy's eyes and the gag over her mouth.

"What do you think you're doing to Lucy bastards?" Natsu screamed out, seconds away from charging forward and beating the shit out of the council assholes.

However, before he could take a single step, a massive fist crushed him into the ground.

"Be quiet boy. We don't pick fights with the council." Makarov warned quietly from behind Natsu.

"But Gramps!" Natsu yelled as he stared back at the old man but swallowed his next words.

The old man had a quiet fury etched onto his old face as he watched Lucy get led into the back of a carriage. Like hell they would allow a family member to be treated in such a way.

Natsu swallowed his complaints as he watched the carriage pull away, his eyes narrowing as it turned a corner and disappeared from sight.  _Like hell ill let Lucy take the fall for this._ Natsu thought to himself,  _and I know just how I'm gonna break her out._

* * *

The guild was deafly quiet as everyone sat at tables, lost in their own thoughts. Fairy Tail had always had their fair share of run-ins with the magic council but to actually arrest one of them? And their newest member too? Something about the council's actions just seemed off. Erza and Gray sat at the bar, scowls on their faces and their arms crossed over their chests. They had both been present at the Clover battle but neither had been brought in like Lucy was, was there some meaning behind just arresting the airheaded blonde? Mira stood on the other side of the bar, her hands automatically whipping down a set of glasses as she worriedly thought about Lucy. She had grown quite attached to the Elemental mage, almost to the point that she considered her something akin to a younger sister, and she refused to fail this one like she had failed Lisanna.

"Guys! Let me out of here! I promise I'll be good!" Natsu shouted from underneath the cup on the counter that he had been placed under to keep him from running off.

"Natsu, the moment we let you out your going to run off and get Lucy so absolutely not." Mira warned with an annoyed look on her face.

"Master, should we not go to testify on Lucy's behalf?" Erza asked her tone dark with anger over Lucy's arrest.

"It wouldn't do any good, by the time we get there the council will have given their verdict." The Master said with his eyes closed, his tone flat despite the fact that one of his members had been taken.

"But why arrest Lucy? She only showed up at the very end and even then she probably inflicted the least amount of damage to the area." Gray commented.

The guild was quiet at Gray's question, a question that each person had wondered themselves. But the silence was interrupted by Natsu banging on the glass he was trapped in, still screaming about being let out.

"Alright Natsu, I'll let you out." Makarov said, shocking everyone present including Natsu, who stopped moving and looked nervous. "What's wrong Natsu? Suddenly you seem less enthusiastic about going to get Lucy?" and before anyone could say anything the Master shot a burst of light magic at Natsu and the cup, sending both flying off the bar.

The second Natsu struck the ground a cloud of smoke covered his body before disappearing and revealing a grinning Macao in his place.

Everyone stared at the man with mouths agape as Macao stood up and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sorry guys, but Lucy and Natsu saved my life and I owed them one."

"So Natsu went to rescue Lucy didn't he?" Gray asked Macao, the older man nodding in confirmation.

"While it's manly to rescue your family, I can't see Natsu solving this without getting us in even more trouble." Elfman yelled out, the other members beginning to murmur amongst themselves.

"Everyone be silent!" Makarov commanded, smacking his staff on the counter top to draw everyone's attention. "We will simply have to wait and see how this turns out." He commanded with a sigh, hoping beyond hope that Natsu didn't cause too much damage.

* * *

Lucy walked carefully through what she could only assume were the halls leading up to the hearing chambers in the Fiore branch of the Magic Counsel building, as she was still blindfolded and gagged and only being led by two men at her sides.

 _I suppose that a day when I had THAT dream would naturally end this way._  Lucy decided as the sound of people moving around her echoed throughout her head. Lucy couldn't help but shudder as her mind inevitably went back to the nightmare that she had endured earlier that day.

_Lucy watched with wide eyes as the walls, ceiling, and ground around her were engulfed in a sea of fire. Before she knew it everything was burning, casting an otherworldly glow to the blood that coated her small hands. She could feel "It" screaming at her to run, that she was in danger, but her mind refused to process the information that it was receiving._

_Lucy looked up, her eyes wide with both fear and incomprehension, at the creature she could only assume was responsible for the inferno that surrounded her. The monster was so large that one of its massive hands could easily engulf her and the muscles along its arm's showed that it would have no trouble crushing her into a fine powder. The creature had no legs to speak of, rather at its torso a jet of flames propelled it upwards, the force of the flames keeping it hovering above the ground. The monster was covered in brilliant orange flames that danced along its skin almost as if they had a mind of their own. Two massive horns flanked the monsters head, giving it a demonic appearance that matched the roaring flames_

_The creature then turned to Lucy and stared at her with a look that Lucy would never be able to forget, a look that instantly conveyed what had happened during her brief time that she had lost control._

_Lucy stared down at her now shaking hands before shutting her eyes and screaming like she never had before._

_They were gone, and Lucy was the one to blame…her family was dead._

Lucy shuddered as the memory washed over her and silently thanked Natsu for waking her from the nightmare when he did, as she couldn't bare to relive any more of that day than she had to.

It was at that moment that the two people next to her stopped moving and before she could wonder why her blindfold and gag were removed, the light instantly blinding her for a brief moment.

When her eyesight recovered enough, Lucy could see the some familiar people sitting upon expensive looking chairs staring down at her with a variety of expressions. However two people up there, a man with a facial tattoo and a woman with black hair, were new to her and looked at her with curious expressions, not quite sure what to make of her.

"Thank you Rune Knights, you may leave us now." Chairman Crawford solemnly commanded, the two knights bowing slightly before leaving Lucy's side and closing the door behind them and leaving Lucy with just the council.

For a few second no one spoke, the council members all trying to get their thoughts in order and Lucy simply fiddling with the magical sealing cuffs that still bound her power.

However, finally tired of the awkward atmosphere, Belno smiled down at Lucy with a very grandmotherly smile. "It has been quite awhile Lucy, how you have been?"

"Nothing new to report Councilwoman Belno. Just the same as always." Lucy answered normally, her attention now focused on the council before her. "Although I was recently involved in another fight with Zeref's demons."

"Ah yes, Lullaby. We are quite thankful for your aid in returning the demon back to its flute state." Yajima thanked with a amused chuckle.

"Enough of this small talk! Why have you joined a legal guild Wrench!" Michello yelled out in anger, trying to appear as intimidating as possible despite his small stature.

However this proved to be a mistake, as "It" instantly began to regard the small man as a threat to Lucy's safety and instantly began to influence Lucy's surroundings and causing energy to crackle through the air despite the magical sealing cuffs.

"I do not recall ever saying that I would not join a legal guild." Lucy murmured quietly but coldly, her eyes narrowing at the cat man and causing the council member to shudder slightly.

"Now, now…no reason for us to get heated up." Chairman Crawford said in a warm tone, causing the atmosphere around Lucy to return to normal and her previous cold demeanor to return to a passive one as "It" ceased to register them as threats. "However, Miss Lucy, we would very much like to know the reason that you decided to join a guild. The last time we spoke you gave no indication that you planned to join a guild and we would simply like to understand you line of thought."

Lucy paused for a second before shrugging slightly. "There was no real thought process that went into it. I was simply invited to join by Natsu Dragneel and saw no reason to refuse."

"Do you plan to reveal the truth of your origins to them? Because if so you will be breaking our agreement." Org warned with a scowl, clearly not happy with Lucy having joined the most destructive guild in the country

"I do not plan on it. Unless a situation that I cannot flee from and if a battle occurs that requires them to know said information I have no intention of revealing the truth."Lucy said quietly, her tone serious beyond what anyone present had ever heard her use.

"Well I suppose that's fine then. Just remember that so long as your seal remains in place and the truth remains hidden we, the Magic Council, will bring no charges against you or those by your side." Chairman Crawford said as he patted his beard and sighed loudly. "So long as the general public never hears the truth of the flames on that day we will maintain the status quo with you."

"Mmmm…oh, before I forget, I used a large sum of money recently and need some more." Lucy casually said, causing Belno to chuckle lightly and the others to sigh in defeat.

"Very well, we shall send funds to your new address. Well then, I call this trial ove-." The chairman started to say when the door to the courtroom exploded.

Lucy turned around instantly, her levels of alertness instantly peaking. With the magical sealing cuffs on "It" couldn't detect whatever caused the door to explode so Lucy was surprised equally so by the explosion.

When the dust cleared Lucy was surprised to see Natsu, a blonde wig on his head and a white dress instead of his usual clothes.

"Hey idiots on the Council, My names Lucy and I'm the elemental summoner you're looking for! See, here's my fire spirits power!" He shouted as he breathed fire into the air.

Lucy was stumped, completely lost on what Natsu was trying to accomplish here. She turned back to see the council looking equally as confused as she felt. The Chairman eyes met her for a second and Lucy could tell that despite the fact that she was about to be released she would now have to spend the night in prison with Natsu in order to maintain appearances.

Lucy nodded quickly, showing her understanding of the situation while Natsu continued to cause destruction in the background.

The chairman banged his gravel, summoning the guards into the courtroom. "Guards! Arrest these deviants!" he commanded, the guards instantly suppressing Natsu and grabbing Lucy roughly and dragged her and Natsu out.

Eventually they reached a dungeon and the two Fairy Tail mages into a cell and slammed the door shut.

"Hey, come back here you bastards! I'm not done with you guys yet!" Natsu shouted as he yanked on the bars but with no real effect.

"Natsu, why are you here? The council only arrested me." Lucy questioned as she sat down on the cold stone floor, completely at ease with the situation.

"Huh? What are you talking about Luce? Of course I would come break you out!" Natsu said with a grin.

Lucy couldn't help but smile back for a second before yawning loudly. With most of her powers sealed away she couldn't rely on "It" to help maintain her attentiveness. Plus with the nightmare she had the night before she hadn't slept as well as she normally did.

Natsu's grin only grew wider as he watched Lucy struggle to stay awake. "It's ok to go to bed Luce; I'll keep a look out for anymore Council bastards."

"Alright then…goodnight." Lucy slowly said as she lay down and allowed sleep to overcome her.

Natsu smiled down at Lucy as he moved to sit right beside her, the blonde girl falling asleep almost instantly and curling her body to be closer to Natsu's heat. Every day he learned that Lucy was stranger than he originally thought. Like how she didn't want to own everything or how she apparently stole money from old men, and Natsu enjoyed every moment with her. Natsu was never one to sit around and he knew many in Fairy Tail considered Natsu himself to be quite the hyperactive and strange compared to the other members but even Natsu couldn't beat the strangeness of the sleeping blonde.

Natsu's eyes narrowed as he thought back to the morning when he saw Lucy suffering and how he had been unable to help her when she had been carted away, bound like some kind of dangerous criminal. He had been beyond pissed at those times, being completely unable to help her in both those situations was something he just couldn't accept and he'd be dammed if he let something like that happen to her again, not if he could help it.

* * *

Like Lucy expected, she and Natsu were released the next morning with nothing more than a slap on the wrist, Natsu taunting the rune knights the entire time.

The guild had been shocked by the two of them walking casually up to the guild like they were simply coming home from a job. Natsu instantly tried to restart his fight with Erza, however the older woman didn't seem to be in the mood for a fight and simply knocked him unconscious the moment he approached.

Lucy had been in the middle of explaining to Levy about what had transpired during her time in the courtroom when suddenly "It" detected a powerful sleep spell attempting to work its way into her consciousness. Within seconds Lucy's magic swelled as "It" moved to fight off her unknown attacker.

The other members of the guild weren't as fortunate as Lucy however, as one by one they fell to the ground sleep overcoming them. Lucy looked around franticly, attempting to determine the source of the attacker, when a shocked voice drew her attention back to the counter.

"Well this is a surprise. I didn't expect you to be able to resist his magic Lucy." The Master commented with an amused chuckle.

"Master, are we under attack?" Lucy asked with slight panic in her voice as she checked the condition of the now unconscious Fairy Tail members.

"No, no my dear; it is simply one of our strongest members returning. Mystogan, it is fine to enter now, it is ok to trust Lucy here." The Master said, first to Lucy and then to another person that Lucy did not know.

A few seconds later the sound of someone approaching the guild slowly and methodically. Lucy turned to face the door just in time to see a man covered head to toe in cloth walking casually through the door. The man had at least five staffs on his back and one in his hand, the staff in his hand the source of the magic that was afflicting the guild.

While Lucy couldn't see the man's eyes from under his hood she could still tell that the man was staring at Lucy with a curious gaze, a gaze that Lucy was returning.

"Mystogan, this is the newest member of Fairy Tail; Lucy. Lucy, this is Mystogan; one of the most powerful members of our family." The Master explained, his voice sounding tired as he struggled to fight off the magic.

"It" instantly relaxed the moment that Master Makarov introduced the man as a member of Fairy Tail, Lucy following suit with a smile and a curtsy. "I see, Nice to meet you Mystogan."

"The pleasure is mine." The man mumbled from behind his mask and with greetings out of the way the man simply walked up to the job board, ripped a request off, and quickly made his way out the front door back into the light of the day.

The moment Mystogan's footsteps faded into the distance the guild members instantly shot back up each person looking around in confusion and heavily lidded eyes.

"Ah man…was that Mystogan again?" A man named Jet groaned as he stood up and rubbed his head.

"Why does he have to do that every time he comes here?" Laki asked to no one in particular as she rubbed her eyes.

Lucy turned to Erza, who was one of the first ones to rise after the spell lifted. "Erza, who exactly is Mystogan?"

"He is one of Fairy Tail's strongest members, as well as one of our most mysterious. He has only allowed the Master to see his face and whenever he enters the guild he places a sleeping spell over everyone in order to take his jobs in peace." Erza explained her annoyance at falling under the spell clear in her voice.

"Your slightly off Red head, I've seen his face before. Mystogan's just a little shy." A cocky voice answered from the second floor.

Lucy, along with everyone else in the guild, looked up to see a blonde man leaning on the railing and arrogantly staring down at them. It only took Lucy a moment to realize that the man up there was Laxus, the grandson of Master Makarov and one of the most powerful mages in the guild.

The second Laxus finished speaking Natsu leapt up and smiled cockily up at the thunder mage."Laxus! Fight me now!"

"Ha, if you couldn't beat red head there then you stand no chance against me little man." Laxus taunted, causing Erza to tense up at Lucy's side.

Natsu growled under his breath before sprinting forward, clearly intending to run up to the second level of the guild hall in order to fight the blonde man. However, before he could take a single step up the stairs a massive fist crushed him into the floor

"You're not allowed on the second floor Natsu, at least not yet." The Master cryptically declared.

"Uh-oh, looks like you made the old man angry." Laxus taunted from his perch, only future pissing off Natsu. "Get this through your heads lemmings, the strongest fighter in Fairy Tail isn't some creepy guy hiding his face or some armor obsessed chick; the strongest fighter is me!"

Laxus turned to go back to his seat, but before he did Lucy could have sworn that his eyes landed on her for a brief moment, a look that was almost challenging her to try to climb to his level.

 _I-it can't be…did he see through me to "It"?_ Lucy thought in a slight panic as she watched the man disappear and the others began to go back to their own business.  _I shall have to be wary of him in the future._  Lucy decided, her eyes never leaving the place that Laxus had been standing.

* * *

When the day finally ended Lucy ended up making her way back to Fairy Hills with Levy, the blue haired girl handing Lucy book after book for her to read up till they separated to go to their own rooms. Lucy was about to turn the knob when "It" detected two presences inside but within a second "It" identified the presences as Happy and Natsu.

Opening the door, Lucy was greeted by the sight of Happy and Natsu doing sit ups on her new bed.

"Hey Lucy, welcome back." The two greeted without stopping their workout.

"Mmmm, I'm back." Lucy casually replied as she placed her bag down on her table and moved to lean against the wall by her bed. "Why are you working out here Natsu? Don't you have your own house?"

"We're a team Lucy! so we got to train together too!" He said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Aye, and we got you pink dumbbells too!" Happy announced as he flew over to a set of workout equipment in the corner.

"I see." Lucy answered as she moved to grab her own set, deciding that it had indeed been along time since she had worked out her body.

The three trained together for a good while, Natsu occasionally shouting out that they would defeat Erza and Laxus, Happy agreeing every time he shouted, but eventually Natsu stopped and pulled a job request out of his pocket.

"So we've decided that it's about time for us to take on a real mission." He said as he handed Lucy the paper.

The job involved freeing an island from an evil curse and offered a substantial reward, including a elemental gem. While Lucy wasn't looking forward to the boat ride to the island, her attention at that moment was drawn to the giant red S that was stamped in the top right corner.

"Hey Natsu, what does the S on this job mean?" Lucy asked as she handed the paper back to Natsu.

She could see Natsu tense for a moment before a nervous smile appeared on his face. "Oh that…that means it's a Super mission! They're really rare and have better rewards so the Master posts them in a special place. I got lucky and managed to grab that one before anyone else could."

Lucy raised an eyebrow at Natsu's nervousness but otherwise was impressed that Natsu was able to secure such an important job. "I see…so what are we waiting for? Why not get going right now?" Lucy announced as she grabbed her bag, a faint smile on her face as she stared back at Natsu's and Happy's ecstatic faces.

"Aye Ma'am!"

"Yes! I'm fired up now!"

The two shouted before leaping through Lucy's window, Lucy following after them shortly after. Lucy couldn't help but feel the excitement that she always did when a difficult job reared its head, as it would prove to be a good distraction from everything that had happened recently.


	7. Solomon's Child

The guild was completely silent as they watched the Master. A few minutes earlier Mira had run down the stairs yelling about how one of the S-class missions had gone missing and after the master's initial surprise he simply shut his eyes and crossed his arms in thought.

"Some fool was dumb enough to steal an S-class mission?" Wakaba questioned Mira, the silver haired barmaid nodding in response.

"Whoever it was they must be pretty stupid to steal one of those missions." Laki declared, nearly every member of the guild murmuring in agreement.

"Oh, I know who took it. A little blue cat snuck up here and snatched it from the board." Laxus casually declared as he leaned back on his chair.

"So Natsu and Happy huh? Can't really say I'm surprised about that." Macao said with a sigh.

"Then that's probably why Lucy hasn't shown up this morning, she must have gotten dragged into this as well." Cana commented as she surveyed the crowd but couldn't see any sign of the blonde mage.

"Those three have quite the guts to steal a S-class mission." Alzack murmured seriously, Bisca nodding along with him.

"I knew Natsu was stupid, but I didn't think that Lucy was on his level."

"That's a serious breach of guild rules. You're not gonna let this one slide, are ya Gramps?" Laxus arrogantly asked, the Master ignoring the jab hidden in his words.

"Laxus! If you saw Happy steal the mission why didn't you stop him!" Mira angrily chastened as she once again climbed the stairs, her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.

Laxus however couldn't care less for her anger, simply shrugging at the barmaid. "All I saw was a cat trying to be sneaky with a piece of paper in its mouth. I had no way to know if it was Happy or not. And besides, I would never dream that Natsu would break the rules."

Mira glared daggers at the blonde mage, a look that would have sent any other member of the guild scurrying away but only caused the arrogant mage to chuckle.

"It's been a long time since you've given me that look."

"Well this isn't going to go well…what job did the fools take?" The Master asked.

"Solving the curse of Galuna Island." Mira answered, her eyes never leaving Laxus.

Instantly the guild was in an uproar, everyone shocked by the sheer stupidity of taking the mission that had not been completed by any of the many guilds in Fiore for over a year. And Natsu thought that he had the stones to solve the curse of Galuna?

"Laxus! Go and retrieve those fools at once!" The Master commanded as he leapt down from the bar counter and walked into the center of the guild in order to see his grandson better.

"You wish Gramps, but I've got better things to do then going to play baby sitter for Pinky." Laxus dismissed at first before remembering who exactly the dumbass dragon slayer had paired up with. A cruel smile spread over his lips as he stared down at his grandfather. "Actually gramps, I would be happy to go if it gives me the chance to play around with that new looks like she could give me a good time."

Mira blinked in surprise for a second before slamming her hand down on the table, her glare only growing worse as she continued to stare at the lighting mage.

"If you touch one hair on her head Laxus…"Mira threatened, causing Laxus to simply laugh loudly again.

"Ha! Don't worry, I don't mean like that. I mean that she looks like she could put up a halfway decent challenge. Although, I wouldn't mind tussling around with her like that since she's got such a smoking figure."

Mira's anger lessened for a moment as she considered Laxus's cryptic words. "What do you mean? Lucy's just as frail as any normal girl."

Laxus stared at Mira like she was stupid before turning and staring at the rest of the guild in turn and seeing their equally confused faces. "Unbelievable…to think that none of the lemmings can tell that there's a wolf in their midst's."

"What do you mean by that Laxus?" The master questioned, his curiosity about his newest child momentarily outweighing his anger for Natsu stealing an S-class mission.

"That's for you all to figure out." Laxus said with a casual wave of his hand. "But I will tell you this; whatever you think about that chick is probably far from the truth. She's hiding something and I for one can't wait to see the skeleton's in her closet."

The guild was silent for a moment as they thought about Lucy and her strange behavior, not able to fully deny that there was something slightly off about their new member. However, all thoughts were interrupted when the Master cleared his throat and glared back up at his grandson.

"Regardless, you are the only one who can force Natsu back Laxus, so get going at once."

"Hold it old man; I can't just let that statement slide." Gray declared as he stood up, a confident smirk on his face.

* * *

Lucy watched Natsu struggle back to his feet after slowly pulling his limp and pale body from the train. The trip to Hargeon for transportation to the island had been long and arduous for the dragon slayer, as his motion sickness appeared to be in full swing ever since he realized that they might have to take a boat to the island that the job was located on. Lucy did empathize with her pink haired teammate and had even offered to walk to the port again in order to avoid using the train but Natsu had quickly shot down that idea, looking particularly nervous as he did so but Lucy was unable to determine why exactly.

The three were currently asking what felt like the hundredth sailor if they would be willing to provide transport to this supposedly cursed island but no one had had agreed and a few had even refused to speak to them after their request to be taken to the island.

"Sorry kids, but no sailor is going to even go close to that island." The sailor they were currently talking to said with a shake of the head.

"Ah screw this, why don't we just swim to the island?" Natsu screamed out in frustration as he stared out at the sea.

"Mmm…we might have to at this point." Lucy agreed as she began to stretch out her arms, she herself not exactly too upset over the fact that they might have to forgo the boat trip.

"You really need to stop going along with Natsu's stupidity Lucy. Otherwise you're going to end up just as thick as he is." The voice of Gray commented from behind the two, causing all three mages to jump slightly and turn back around to see the black haired mage grinning arrogantly at them.

Lucy tilted her head to the side, her surprise evident on her face. "What are you doing here Gray? Are you here to join us on the mission?"

"Hell no, I don't want to face Erza's wrath. I'm here just to bring you back." The ice mage denied with a shake of his head.

"Like hell you are! We're not going back until we finish the job!" Natsu shouted as he ignited his hands.

The sailor they had just been talking to stared at the four of them with a now shocked expression. "You four are mages? Are you here to lift the curse on the Island?"

"You bet mister, we're mages from Fairy Tail!" Natsu announced as she showed off his shoulder, the red Fairy Tail emblem clear as day.

"You're not doing this mission Natsu!" Gray denied but was ignored by everyone but Lucy, who was staring at him curiously.

The sailor was quiet for a moment, his eyes narrow slits as he inspected each Fairy Tail member in turn, before gesturing with his head at his boat. "Get in."

"Hey! Don't encourage him!" Gray yelled at the sailor before being brutality kicked by Natsu, forcing the ice make mage unconscious.

"Natsu…is this really all part of the Super mission?" Lucy questioned tentatively, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"A-ah…of course it is Luce! The old man likes to through some curve balls in these things…" Natsu said as he turned away.

Lucy stared at Natsu for a moment before shrugging her shoulders and joining Natsu and the now unconscious Gray in the boat, her stomach already feeling queasy.

* * *

As the day slowly turned into night Gray finally decided that he wasn't going to break out of the ropes Natsu had used to restrain him and instead decided to simply watch Lucy and Natsu with interest. Natsu was leaning over the edge of the boat, his face a pale green color and his cheeks buldging occasionally with whatever it was he had eaten last. Nothing out of the ordinary there, but it was Lucy that was the more interesting one.

The moment their little fishing boat got out to the open waters the Elemental summoner had collapsed in almost the same manner as Natsu, her face equally as pale and she refused to move, the only sign that she was actually still alive was the occasional pathetic groan that escaped her lips.

"Wow Lucy, you suffer from motion sickness too? Happy commented from his place on one of the seats, his eyes wide in surprise as he watched the two writhing mages.

"Only on boats…ugh." Lucy groaned as she placed a hand over her eyes, attempting to alleviate the headache that had been caused by her nauseousness.

Happy laughed to himself, already used to seeing humans suffering from their stomachs rebelling against them, but Gray only narrowed his eyes. He couldn't help but remember Laxus's strange words.

_She's never seemed like she's all that strong. I mean sure, that whole river in the sky thing was pretty impressive, but still…Laxus thinks that she could go up against him? Why would he know more about her then those of us who have already worked with her?_ However, no matter how much he thought about it he couldn't get answers due to the mage in question being too indisposed to answer any questions.

So rather than wasting his time questioning a woozy mage, Gray instead turned his attention to the man who was currently piloting the boat. "So what the hell man? Why did you all the sudden decide to take us to the island? I thought no one goes to the island anymore?" Gray questioned sarcastically.

The man glanced down at Gray before once again staring out at the open sea. "I used to live upon that island young man, and rather than calling me "Man" I would prefer if you called be Bobo." The man named Bobo said before pausing, likely to collect his thoughts. "I was forced to flee from the island due to the curse…this terrible demon curse." He said before revealing his deformed left arm.

Gray recoiled slightly as he inspected the appendage, Bobo's skin had turned completely purple and the entire are appeared to be cover with insect looking armor. The fingers were longer then they should be and ended in tips, looking more like the talons of a bird of prey than a man's hands.

"Your hand…that's…" Gray heard Lucy mumble quietly ,her eyes opened weakly as she stared at the man.

"This is what happens on that island, an island that we have just arrived at." Bobo announced as the man looked up, Gray following his line of sight to see a tropical island off in the distance.

"So that's Galuna Island huh?" Gray questioned as he turned back to face Bobo, only to see that the sailor had disappeared. "What the hell, where did the old man go?" Gray screamed before noticing that a massive wave was barreling down on them.

"Everyone hold on to something!" Gray shouted at the three other mages, knowing that with his hands still tied that it was going to be a miracle if he made it out of this ok.

However when the wave was just seconds away from washing over them Lucy sprang into action. Despite the nausea she was no doubt feeling she pointed her right arm at the oncoming wave and Gray could see the blue gem on her armband begin to glow.

"Spirit of Water, manifest and obey my will!" She shouted, although with not as much force as she would have normally.

Gray was shocked to see that rather than dragging them into a watery grave the wave had completely stopped moving, almost as if time around them had stopped entirely, before the entirety of the wave twisted into a vaguely human shape.

Gray stared up in awe at the water spirit before hearing the sound of something falling behind him. Turning around, Gray could see that Lucy had once again collapsed, her hand over her mouth clearly trying to hold back the inevitable.

"P-please spirit…take us to the shore…" Gray heard Lucy murmur quietly before she groaned loudly at the fact that the boat was now speeding towards the shore.

The moment the boat hit the stability of the islands beach both Lucy and Natsu sprang from the ship and sprawled out on the beach, their breaths in short ragged bursts.

"Unbelievable you two…it's embarrassing to think that I'm in the same guild as you guys."

"Just be glad you don't have to deal with this too Gray. You can't understand the pain we're going through." Lucy said before standing and staring at their surroundings. "Now that we've arrived we should probably find the town that put out this Super mission." And the blonde mage began walking into the dense jungle, her nausea apparently completely gone already.

Gray however didn't fail to notice what she had said. "Natsu…what did she mean when she said Super mission?"

The fire dragon slayer flinched slightly before crossing his arms and turning to the side. "Well…I knew that Lucy would refuse if she knew what an S-class mission was so I might have…told her it was something else."

"Are you nuts? Forget the fact that who knows how Lucy's going to react to that, if Erza hears that you lied to bring her along on your suicide mission I can only imagine what she'll do you."

"I know that! But I couldn't think of another way to get her to come with us." Natsu growled out, his frustration with the situation obvious.

"We're going to make it up to her later Gray, but she's our teammate and a team is supposed to go on missions together." Happy sadly mewled.

Gray narrowed his eyes as he stared at the two pathetic mages, both looking miserable at the fact that they had lied to Lucy, before sighing loudly and grinning confidently. "Well, you two will have to make it up to her later. But until then let's take down this mission. I'm sure that if we manage to beat the mission Gramps will be pissed for awhile but he'll still be proud of us."

"Heh, who would have thought that you would say something intelligent for once Gray." Natsu joked.

"But it will be up to two to make up for the lie you told her. And if she gets so angry that she leaves her team you have no one to blame but yourselves. Got it?" Gray warned, causing both Natsu's and Happy's expressions to drop but Gray couldn't care less, they had to sleep in the bed they made.

* * *

When the four Fairy Tail mages finally reached the small town that had posted the request the night had gone on for so long that the date had changed. The four mages each looked exhausted as they stared up at the massive wooden gate.

"Excuse me? We are here for the job request!" Lucy shouted out but received no immediate response.

"…should we break in?" Natsu questioned as he slammed a fist into his open palm.

"…maybe, give it a minute." Lucy commented, causing Gray to smack her lightly on the back of her head.

"We don't destroy a client's property Lucy."

Lucy pouted slightly before nodding at Gray, during which time two figures appeared on top of the massive walls.

"Who goes there?" One of the figures shouted.

"We are mages of the Fairy Tail guild and we have come here to complete your request." Lucy yelled as she turned back to the gate.

"Why weren't we notified that the request had been accepted?" The other guard questioned, clearly not trusting them.

Lucy turned back to face her companions, an anxious expression now on her face.

"There must have just been some mix up with the paperwork." Gray explained casually, causing Lucy to sigh in relief as she was unsure what they would if the village.

The two men seemed to be whispering to each other on top of the wall before both turned to stare down at them again. "Show us your guild marks!" the first man shouted.

Lucy held up her right hand, her pink guild mark plain as day, while the others each showed off their own respective marks. There was silence behind the gate for a moment before the entire wall shuddered and the massive gate began to lift into the air. When the four mages entered the village proper they were greeted by what appeared to be nearly every member of the village standing before them, each person covered in cloth to obscure their features.

"Welcome to our village, mages of Fairy Tail, I am Moka the village chief. Now then, forgive me for being so forward but there is something we would like you to see." The man in the front introduced himself before turning to his people and nodding. In one fluid motion the members of the village removed their cloaks to reveal that each person bore a limb similar to Bobo's.

Moka went on to explain that around three years ago the moon had begun to turn purple and since that fateful day each of the villagers had one of their limbs transformed. Their village had consulted with a multitude of doctors, both the magical and physical kind, but no person had ever given them a definite definition on what afflicted them.

It was at that moment that the moon, its light indeed having turned purple, came out from behind the moon, causing the people of the village to take on a completely demonic appearance.

Lucy narrowed her eyes in suspicion, not at the villager's appearances in general but at what their appearances meant. Her mother had once mentioned the demon race, and what she had mentioned had sticked with Lucy her entire life.

_These people...they look almost exactly like what my mom described_. _does this mean that there's a clue to the dragon's fate somewhere on this island?_ Lucy thought seriously to herself as Natsu jumped forward, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Wow! You guys look so awesome!" He exclaimed, causing the villagers to stare at him strangely despite the fact that Lucy agreed with Natsu's declaration.

Moka went on to explain that due to the curse of the moon each and every night they would take on these demonic appearances and return to human form in the morning. But that one poor soul had fully succumbed to the curse and had turned into a mindless beast, forcing the villagers to put him down in order to keep them safe.

Moka then showed them a photo of the man who had lost control, the same man who had taken them to the island and who was also the son of Moka; Bobo.

Lucy heard Gray mutter something about the man disappearing because he was a ghost, but Lucy couldn't put any faith in that explanation. "It" had easily detected the man's presence when they had been negotiating for him to take them to the island and even though she couldn't fully pay attention to him during their travels, she was certain that the man was standing there with them even if she couldn't explain his sudden disappearance.

"There is only one way to free us from this evil curse and end our suffering…you must destroy the moon!" Moka shouted as he pointed vindictively at the celestial body in question.

"Understood." Lucy said with a nod, drawing all attention to herself. "However, before I attempt to remove the moon from the sky I will need to recover the magical energy that I've lost today and would prefer to strike from the highest point in the island. I understand that you would want us to remove the curse as soon as possible but would it be alright if we retire for the evening and remove the moon tomorrow?"

Moka frowned slightly and shut his eyes in thought for a moment before replying. "Understood, I shall have someone show you to a building you may use for the evening."

Lucy bowed slightly, the other three boys following her lead a second later. "Thank you, Village Chief, I promise your days of suffering will end before we leave this island."

When the four Fairy Tail mages finally found themselves in a small hut to sleep in for the night Gray instantly turned to stare incredulously at Lucy.

"Lucy…don't tell me that you actually think that you can destroy the moon?"

"By myself? No." Lucy replied, causing both Gray and Happy to sigh with relief. "But if I borrow the power of one of my spirits it should be possible."

"Nope, not even remotely possible, you can't destroy the moon Lucy!" Gray desperately shouted at her, hoping beyond hope that she wasn't actually capable of doing what she claimed she could.

"Then what do you suggest we do Icicle breath? We took a job and if we back out without completing it it'll make Fairy Tail look bad." Natsu commented from his seat.

Gray was silent for a moment as he racked his brain for something to keep the two idiots from doing something that would cause irreversible damage to the world. "…ok…the mountain." He murmured, drawing the others attention. "Tomorrow we go investigate the top of the mountain here. On our way in I saw what looked like ruins on the top of the mountain so before we…destroy the moon…we go see if the curse has something to do with that mountain."

Lucy was silent for a brief moment before nodding her head. "Understood…and as I said earlier, I would prefer to attack from the highest point on the island so going to the mountain was something I would have preferred to do anyway."

"Right…sure…"Gray said with a sigh and turned to Natsu. "Honestly Flame Brain…how can you put up with this?"

"What are you talking about Snow Cone? How can you not enjoy the randomness that is Lucy?" Natsu questioned with a grin, only causing Lucy to tilt her head in confusion.

* * *

The next morning was mostly uneventful as they slowly explored the island. The only exception being when a gigantic rat dressed in a maid outfit had attempted to attack them but before it could even land a single blow Lucy had sniped it between the eyes, knocking the beast out cold.

They did however discover an ancient temple that was decorated in moonlike symbols.

"Is this what you saw from the boat Gray?" Lucy asked as she gingerly placed a hand on the stone walls, the stone beneath her hands slightly crumbling at her touch.

"Ya but based off of what we can see here it doesn't look like anyone's used this place in years." Gray commented as he looked suspiciously at the moon carvings that decorated the wall.

"Man, this place is falling apart. Even the floors look like they're about to collapse." Natsu said as he stamped his foot on the ground, instantly causing the ground beneath them to collapse and dropped their group into an underground cavern.

"Natsu, you dumbass, what the hell do you think your doin-." Gray started to curse before noticing something that caused his eyes to go wide in surprise and horror.

Before their group was a massive humanoid creature trapped in an equally as large block of ice.

"No…there's no way! How…how did this get here?!" Gray yelled in shock, his cool persona shattering under the stress of the situation.

"You know what this thing is Gray?" Natsu questioned, his eyes never leaving the creature that had caused his rival to react so violently.

"It's a demon…the demon of destruction." Gray started to say, before pausing to collect his thoughts.

However, Lucy was able to pick up where he left off. "Deliora, a demon created by Zeref." She answered quietly as she stared up at the demons massive form, her thoughts unreadable on her blank face.

Gray turned and grabbed Lucy's shoulders so fast that Natsu and Happy couldn't even tell he had moved. "How do you know about Deliora Lucy?" He asked, his voice strained under the pressure of the situation.

Lucy pulled her gaze from Deliora to stare at Gray, her gaze nearly as cold as the glare that she used on her foes. "I mentioned this before Fullbuster…but there was a time in my life when I was…"persuaded" to learn all I can on Zeref's demons." She explained before staring back up at the demon. "Deliora here is one that I was forced to learn about in person."

Gray gulped audibly before turning back to face his past. However, before he could say anything more Lucy grabbed him and Natsu by the arms and pulled them behind a nearby rock wall. Gray was about to yell at her for her actions but the blonde mage quickly placed a finger over her lips, silencing the ice make mages protests.

A few seconds later the group of three strange mages that Lucy detected approached the chamber, complaining about intruders and how they had to deal with them before someone known as the Cold Emperor learned of their presence. Eventually they ran into an adjoining cavern due to Happy throwing a stone in order to distract them.

As Lucy extracted herself from the rocks her eyes fell upon Gray's back, the ice make mage staring up at the monster with fury in his eyes.

"I understand that you want to possibly go after this Cold Emperor immediately Gray, but those mages spoke of something happening at night. If we want to learn what they are doing on this island we should probably wait until then before making a move." She commented quietly.

"…you're right…" Gray quietly said with fists clenched at his side.

"Wait what! We've got to hang around here until the night time? It's only the middle of the day!" Natsu shouted, before recoiling slightly at Lucy and Gray's stares. "…Fine, well I'm taking a nap. Wake me when its time." The Fire Dragon Slayer mumbled before walking over to a flat slab of stone and lying down

Lucy watched her teammate for a second before staring once again at Gray's back. The Ice Make mage had taken a seat right in front of the demon and hadn't said anything for a few minutes. But Lucy could tell he was having a hard time dealing with seeing the demon once again.

Lucy gulped silently as she gathered her wits and slowly moved to sit beside Gray but said nothing, her own gaze falling on the demon as well.

The two sat in complete silence for awhile, each dueling with phantoms that no one could help them with, before Gray finally turned to stare at Lucy with a curious gaze.

"You said…that you encountered Deliora too…how did you meet with this thing."

Lucy was silent for a moment as she tried to think of a way to phrase her answer. "When I was younger my…caretaker would have me travel across Fiore in order to complete tasks for them. It was on one of these trips that I was forced into a confrontation with Deliora…a confrontation that I barely escaped with my life intact."

"…sounds like your parents weren't exactly the most heartwarming people."

"I never said they were my parents, they were simply the people who told me what to do." Lucy explained, sighing at Gray's uncomprehending stare. "I explained this to Mira but I never knew my parents. There was a person who taught me what I know who I refer to as my mother but there was no blood relation between us."

The two fell back into silence for a moment before Gray leaned back. "That's nearly the same relation I had with the lady who taught me my magic…Ur. She wasn't related to me at all but after my parents died to Deliora she was all I had."

"May I ask…what happened to her?" Lucy asked tentatively, knowing full well that from the Ice mages tone that nothing good had happened to the woman.

"…she sacrificed everything she had in order to cast Ice shell upon Deliora." Gray quietly said, his hands clenched in front of his chest.

"I'm sorry…" Lucy murmured with downcast eyes, not sure where to go from there. She had never been that great at comforting the other children besides for hugging them until they stopped crying, but she couldn't imagine the same strategy working on the young man next to her. "If you wouldn't mind…would you like to tell me about her for awhile?"

Gray's head whipped up to stare at her, his eyes wide in surprise for a second before a lonely smile crossed his face. "Sure Lucy…I've got plenty of stories to tell."

* * *

Lucy sighed in exhaustion as she oversaw Cybele's construction of pitfalls around the village, her mind going back to what happened earlier that night. When night had finally fallen a beam of pure moonlight had descended into the Deliora chamber causing the ice to begin to melt. The four mages had instantly moved to the top of the ruins to find a large amount of people chanting a spell with immense concentration.

None of the Fairy Tail wizards present could identify what exactly the spell being used was meant to do, but each of them knew that whatever it was it was what was responsible for the ice covering Deliora starting to melt.

When the mages were seconds away from attacking the three strange wizards from earlier in the day along with a new figure that had a faced obscured by a helmet, a figure the others had referred to as the Cold Emperor.

When the Cold Emperor heard about Lucy and the others infiltrating the island and discovering Deliora he ordered something that even someone with Lucy's background was shocked by; he ordered the elimination of the entirety of the village, something that no one present was willing to let happen.

The second after the false emperor ordered the villages destruction Natsu leapt out from behind the rock, roaring about how they were the ones who had been sent to investigate. However the Emperor, a man Gray revealed to be someone by the name of Lyon, still ordered his men to attack the village. When Natsu attempted to attack the man his body was quickly encased in ice and Gray turned and ordered Happy to carry Lucy to the village, something that both were not too keen on doing as it meant abandoning Gray and Natsu.

The moment that they arrived at the village Lucy ordered the confused villagers to assemble in the town square and informed them of what was coming.

"While I appreciate you informing us of the danger young lady, the moon still curse's us. Why have you not destroyed it?" Moka questioned the moment Lucy finished speaking.

Lucy turned to the elderly man, a rare frustrated glare on her face. "We decided that the safety and protection of your village took priority over the completion of your mission. However, if you really desire the moon to be destroyed this exact second I can expend my magical energy in a single arrow and leave us all at the mercy of those who seek your destruction. Will that be acceptable?"

Moka looked ready to respond when he was tackled by a few other demonized villagers. "N-no…we are perfectly happy with you trying to save our lives Miss Lucy." Another man said.

"But Lucy, with only the two of us how will we keep them from destroying this place?" Happy questioned.

Lucy stared down at the blue cat with an amused expression before tapping her bracer. "What are you talking about Happy? We have all the help we need right here." She said before holding out her right hand, the brown gem glowing brighter than normal. "Oh ever shifting spirit of the earth, manifest your champion before me. Come forth; Cybele!" Lucy shouted, a pink haired girl in a maid's uniform appearing before her.

"You summoned Mistress? What can I do for you?" The fully recovered Cybele asked with a bow.

While Gaian was an earth spirit who specialized in moving massive amounts of earth, Cybele explained that she instead took pride in her ability to precisely move the earth without disturbing the surface. Under Lucy's orders the pink haired spirit created an innumerable amount of shallow pits around the entrance of the town while still leaving the top layer of soil intact, creating perfectly hidden pitfalls.

"Lucy…you don't really expect pitfalls to stop them right?" Happy asked nervously, not really comfortable leaving the safety of the village in the hands of someone who was naive enough to think that one of the oldest tricks in the book would work.

"Of course not Happy, but when someone's trying to get themselves out of a pit they tend to stop paying attention to their surroundings." Lucy explained as she fiddled with the bowstring on her weapon.

"Oh I get it…but thank goodness. I was really afraid for a second there that you might be even stupider than Natsu." Happy commented with a snicker that Lucy promptly ignored.

It wasn't even a few minutes later that Lucy heard the sound of the earth collapsing and a man's startled scream from outside the village wall. Lucy instantly drew her bow and aimed at the now exposed pit, intending to fire the moment she saw the outline of a person. However, her preparedness was for naught, as Natsu's pink hair followed shortly by his annoyed face was all that popped out of the hole.

"Seriously guys? Why are you digging holes right now?" He questioned somewhat angrily as he hefted an unconscious Gray over his shoulder.

"Natsu? How did you….no never mind. Cybele!" Lucy shouted, causing the spirit to pop out of the ground only a few feet from the hole Natsu had fallen into much to his surprise. "Please guide Natsu to the gate." She shouted before dropping down to the ground and standing next to the entrance to the village.

Not a minute later, Natsu and Cybele entered through the now open gate and were greeted by Lucy, Happy, and the rest of the village.

"What happened to Gray? Did he lose to the Lyon person?" Lucy questioned in concern for their unconscious teammate.

"Donno, found him unconscious up by the ritual site." Natsu said as he passed Gray to one of the villagers and looked around. "But where did those bastards go? Didn't they leave before me?"

Lucy frowned as she considered Natsu's words. "Indeed…it seems strange that they have been taking so long despite the fact that they had a head start."

It was at that moment that the sound of something flying through the air echoed through the area, drawing the attention of everyone present. Everyone was shocked to see a massive rat flying through the air, the three subordinates standing upon its back. Within the rats claws was a massive bucket.

Lucy narrowed her eyes in suspicion as a drop of greenish fluid dropped from the bucket and began to fall, its path down to the earth leading it right to where Lucy was standing. Lucy was about to jump out of the way, her instincts screaming danger, but before she could Natsu tackled her out of the way.

As it turned out both were correct in their decisions, as the place that Lucy had been standing had melted down leaving a hole in the ground.

"Oh god! It's carrying acid!" One of the villagers shouted, causing the others to begin running around in panic as the rat released its payload.

Natsu and Lucy however refused to give into the panic, the two of them locking eyes for a moment before both sprang into action.

"Natsu! Gather everyone in the center of the village. Be prepared to use your flames to dispel the goo. Cybele! Please switch out with Gaian!" Lucy shouted, the two in question nodding as the moved as she ordered.

As Natsu moved to the center of the village Cybele was covered in a warm brown glow, her shape shifting into Gaian's more bulky form. The spirit took one look at the sky and knew exactly what Lucy intended to do. Both Lucy and her spirit slammed their palms into the ground before staring at each other, their magical energies channeling into the soil beneath them.

" **Unison Raid: Three Layer stone barrier!** " the two shouted, the earth shacking in response to their words. A second later the earth around the village exploded upwards, forming three separate layers of thick stone.

As Lucy struggled to maintain the integrity of the barrier she could feel the acid strike the outer layer, the stone comprising it melting under the strain.  _NO! I refuse to fail these innocent lives!_ Lucy screamed in her mind as she poured more magical energy into the two remaining barriers.

Luckily, it appeared that when the acid first came into contact with something it would quickly dry out, leaving the second barrier only slightly scorched and the final dome completely unscathed.

The moment Lucy confirmed that the acid was no longer a threat she released the magic, her body slouching as her magical levels dipped far too low. She nodded at Gaian, who nodded back and released his own hold on the barrier, causing the earth to crumble back down, and closed his own gate likely to recover.

Lucy on the other hand had no time to take it easy, as two mages had jumped off of the massive rat while the third remained airborne.

Lucy drew her bow and turned to face Natsu and the villagers, intending to ask her partner to deal with the two on the ground while she dealt with the rat and the other pink haired mage. However, before she could even utter a single syllable, Natsu had sprinted past her at the dog man and the shorter man with massive eyebrows.

The two mages exchanged grins for a brief second before Natsu moved past her line of sight and Lucy fell to a knee, drawing her bowstring and firing in a single fluid motion. The rat, apparently not anticipating the chance of being counter attacked, was struck by Lucy's arrow in the dead center of its chest. Roaring in agony, the rat's tail stopped spinning and both the rat and the mage that was riding on its back fell from the sky in the general vicinity of the beach.

Lucy rose to her feet and started to run in the direction that the rat had fallen, something that Happy noticed instantly.

"Lucy! Where are you going?" The cat shouted out as he alternated between watching Natsu's flames get blocked and Lucy's retreating form.

"I'm going to confirm that the other two were defeated. Stay here with Natsu and make sure that no one else shows up!" Lucy shouted back as she rounded a corner, not waiting for the blue cats reply.

The moment Lucy was sure that she was alone she allowed "It" to refocus some of her remaining magical energy into her legs, allowing her to move at an accelerated pace to the place that she saw the rat hit the ground.

When Lucy finally arrived at the location that the massive rat had fallen she was only able to confirm that the rat had been defeated, as there was no sign of the pink haired woman.

"How dare you…how dare you do this to Angelica!" Lucy heard a voice shout from the cliff to her right.

Staring up, Lucy could see the pink haired woman glaring down at her, tears flowing from her eyes. "Because of your interference the Cold Emperor will no longer love me! I, Sherry Blendy, will relieve you of your life in exchange for my loss of love!" She screamed as she gestured to a nearby tree. " **Doll attack: Tree Doll!** " She shouted, a nearby tree extracting itself from the ground and turning to lash out at Lucy.

Dodging out of the trees roots, Lucy aimed her bow at the center of what could be considered the wood dolls head but hesitated.  _My magical arrows won't be of help here…the tree won't stop just because it's in pain._ Lucy thought grimly as she leapt away and unto the nearby beach where she could dodge the attacks easier.  _I'll have to summon a spirit to fight against it. However, I can't summon any earth spirits after summoning two greater spirits so close together…I'll just have to rely on a water spirit._ Lucy said as she held out her arm, the water gem glowing brightly.

A second later a spirit of water rose up from the seawater behind Lucy, its long arms whipping out and striking the wood doll in an almost whip like fashion and sending the now shattered tree flying into the air.

"How dare you do that to my doll you loveless witch!" Sherry shouted out in anger before smiling cruelly. "But no matter, if you're going to summon spirits to help you then you'll only be digging your grave even deeper."

"What are you talking about?" Lucy said in confusion before receiving her answer a second later when her water spirit struck her in the back, sending her rolling across the sand and opening a large gash across her skin. Using her momentum to roll back onto her feet, Lucy saw her water spirit sliding across the ground until it was between Lucy and Sherry and despite the fact that it had no face she could tell that it was staring at her.

"What did you do to my spirit?" Lucy questioned quietly, anger making its way onto her normally expressionless face.

"My magic allows me to control any object and creatures that I desire, and that includes spirits." The woman explained before laughing haughtily. "Now be destroyed by your own magic!" Sherry shouted as she pointed at Lucy, the water spirit moving in response.

However, Lucy wasn't about to sit back and allow her own spirit to attack her. The moment the spirit started to move she severed the connection to the plane of water, forcing the spirits physical manifestation back into its own plane of existence.

"Hmph, so what if you can send your spirit back. I can use all of nature to attack you and you can't summon any of your spirits to defend yourself. I shall send you to the afterlife with love!" She shouted as she cast her magic on the stones around the beach, a massive rock golem rising underneath her.

_This isn't good…I don't have an avenue for victory anymore._ Lucy thought without a hint of panic as she dodged the golem's massive fist and hid in the dust cloud that had been kicked up by the impact.  _My bow won't affect his rock golem either, and if I aim for the mage she'll just put the wall in the way. And my spirits are all susceptible to her magic…do I not have a choice but to unleash "It"?_

But as Lucy was struck by the golem's massive arm, the air in her lungs exiting her body along with a good deal of blood, her choice was made for her.  _I can't handle this myself…I'll just have to leave this to you…_

_._

_._

_._

_"Confirm. Target mage identified. Processing…"_

_"Warning: Primary magic unable to access due to seal."_

_"Warning: Secondary magic unsuited for current engagement."_

_"…method of engagement confirmed. Physical combat confirmed for current altercation."_

Lucy shuddered as a strange numbing sensation overcame her body the moment "It" took control over her limbs and accelerated her mind. As the rock golem began to swing its massive fist in an attempt to crush Lucy.

However to the Lucy of that moment it might as well as been not moving at all. With "It" pumping adrenaline throughout her body the world had slowed to the point that it wasn't moving at all. "It" moved her eyes so fast that Lucy herself wasn't entirely sure what she was currently looking at but was sure that "It" knew exactly what it was doing. "It" quickly calculated the most efficient method of attack and that method required Lucy's body to remain stationary until the last second.

As the stone fist slowly approached Lucy could do nothing but watch it inch closer to her face, as "It" was already in control of her limbs.

"It" waited for the last second before collapsing Lucy's legs out from underneath her, almost as if she was a puppet whose strings were cut, and with an explosive force pushed off the sand with Lucy's arms, sending her flying almost completely horizontally to the ground and directly between the golems legs.

Just as "It" expected, the golem's blow sent up a massive amount of dust, completely obscuring Lucy's movement. The moment that "It" confirmed that Sherry's attention was still on the spot that Lucy had been standing in just moments ago "It" launched itself off of the ground onto the golems shoulder with the intent to strike down Lucy's opponent.

However, "It" quickly realized that Lucy had no weapons that could inflict fatal damage, and instead chose to simply lash out at Sherry's exposed neck, striking her hard enough to knock her unconscious.

The moment the puppeteer mage fell unconscious the golem began to collapse under its own weight, forcing Lucy to regain control over her limbs and grab her now disabled opponent and leap to safety.

As the two mages rolled across the ground Lucy dropped Sherry and remained sprawled out, her limbs almost paralyzed. It had been a long time since she had relinquished control to her other side and just as she expected her body was no longer able to keep up with "It's" demands, and now her muscles were screaming out in pain because of it.

"Hah…hah…hah…I knew that I should have kept up with my training after leaving that place." Lucy complained to no one in particular. However, she wasn't able to take it easy for long, as a powerful and furious entity was approaching slowly and methodically.

Lucy's head shot up, her eyes darting back and forth as she tried to determine the source of the magical energy, and could see a red headed woman dressed in armor approaching the beach.

"Erza? What are you doing here?" Lucy asked, her guard dropping once she realized that one of her family was the one approaching.

Erza looked around for a moment before her eyes settled on Lucy, causing the blonde haired mage to flinch at the anger in her gaze. "…I have come here to retrieve you four, and I trust that you understand why?"

"N-no I don't…does this have something to do with our super mission?" Lucy quietly refuted, feeling a little too much anxiety at the fact that she still couldn't move and the hostility the red headed woman was giving off.

Erza's eyes narrowed even more but her hostility lessened somewhat. "Lucy…do you not know what you have done here?" She questioned, and after seeing Lucy's confused stare placed a hand on her forehead. "You and Natsu took a S-class mission without approval. Something that could be grounds for expulsion depending on the Master's anger."

"…eh?"

* * *

Natsu winced as he watched Erza pace in front of the villagers and interrogated them, knowing exactly what they were going through as he had suffered at the hands of the red haired demon only a few minutes ago.

After Gray had thrashed the white haired ice guy and Natsu had punched the once frozen demon into oblivion the two mages had met up with Erza Lucy and Happy who had been dealing with Leon's lackeys.

However, when the two boys approached they had quickly realized how deep the shit they were in was. Lucy had refused to meet their gaze, seeming to look at everything but them, and Erza had turned to glare at them for a second before beating them senseless.

"How dare you two toy with a maiden's innocence! You shall suffer for your transgressions!" Erza had shouted before beating the two to a pulp.

Natsu honestly did feel bad for lying to Lucy, but like he told Ice nuts he couldn't think of a way to get Lucy to come with Happy and him on the mission. He could tell that Lucy wouldn't like to break the guilds rules and wouldn't come with them normally, so he told her a half lie with the full intention of making it up to her later.

However, he would have never thought that she would react to the truth like this. Lucy hadn't looked him in the eye since they had met up and even when he had tried to apologize she had simply moved to stand on the other side of Erza, causing the red haired demon to glare at Natsu once again.

"I see…I understand the situation." Erza murmured quietly, brining Natsu back out of his thoughts. "Lucy! It's time for us to destroy the moon!" She announced, gesturing for the blonde haired mage to join her.

"…understood." The blonde haired mage answered dejectedly, causing Natsu, Gray, and Happy to flinch at her tone.

As Lucy muttered something under her breath a green glow appeared next to her, eventually taking the form of a man wearing a long fur covered overcoat.

"Well now, this is quite the audience for my debut as your spirit." The man said with a chuckle before turning to Lucy. "What can I do for you today Lucy?"

"We're destroying the moon." Lucy answered quietly as she drew the bow from her back and aimed upwards.

The man's eyes widened slightly before his shoulders began to shake in laughter. "I see…then I suppose you will want to borrow some of my magic then?" the man asked, to which Lucy only nodded her head in confirmation.

The man moved closer to Lucy, causing Natsu to narrow his eyes in anger, and placed a hand on her shoulder. The two stood there for a moment, eyes closed in concentration, before a green glow suffused their bodies. The glow growing brighter and brighter before condensing at the tip of Lucy's bow.

It was then that a strong wind began to pick up in the area, blowing aside a few loose objects and sending anything too small flying through the air. Natsu watched as the man took a step away from Lucy and held his hands out almost as if he too was holding a bow in his hands.

Natsu's eyes widened slightly as a faint line of green energy arched across the space between the two, their magic's melding together into one powerful spell.

Lucy opened her eyes then and pointed her bow directly upwards, an action that was mirrored by the man next to her.

**"Unison Raid Air Strike: Sky Peirce!"** The two shouted as Lucy released her arrow, a sonic boom sending nearly everyone nearby flying backwards a few feet.

By the time that Natsu sat back up the arrow had flown far above the village, the arrow itself glowing in a bright green light with the world around it seeming to warp in response to the magic.

However, something completely unexpected happened as the arrow ascended into the sky. When the arrow had passed the height of the nearby mountain the sound of glass shattering echoed across the island and a purple barrier that had been invisible to the naked eye broke into pieces.

"What? What just happened?" Natsu questioned as he watched the arrow continue to fly off into the night, leaving a shattered sky in its wake.

"The moon drip spell created a magical film over the island, altering the memories of the people of this village." Erza explained, drawing looks of confusion from everyone present except Lucy who was still staring up at the sky.

Natsu's mouth went slack as Erza explained that rather than a curse, the islanders had originally been demons and that the pure magic of the moon drip had confused them, causing them to think that they were originally humans.

The villagers had been ecstatic when Bobo had flown back in, the other villagers unfurling wings of their own and joining the man they had thought was dead. However, Natsu noticed that someone was still apparently completely oblivious to the now happy mood. Looking over, Natsu could see that Lucy was still staring up into the sky, but her sights were not on the now celebrating demons, but on the moon itself.

"Something wrong Luce?" Natsu asked as he moved to stand alongside his partner with a grin on his face.

"…I didn't hit it…" She murmured quietly as she frowned up at the sky.

Natsu was about to say something more but before he could Lucy seemed to realize exactly who was talking to her and after ducking her head and looking away she turned and sprinted behind a nearby building.

"Luce!" Natsu shouted as he reached out to stop her but was stopped himself by Erza's armored hand.

"Leave it alone for now Natsu…you can figure out a way to make it up to her later." Erza ordered with a sad smile on her face.

However Natsu shrugged off her hand and sprinted after the blonde mage, ignoring Erza's command to stop. If he didn't patch things up with Lucy now he might never be able to make it up to her. And Natsu couldn't stand the thought of not being able to go on missions with her again.

Natsu sprinted through the village as he tracked the wayward blonde by her scent, leading him to find her standing behind two buildings on the far end of the village. However she was no longer by herself, as she had been joined by an ecstatic looking Bobo and Moka.

"Thank you, Miss Lucy, for your help here. If it weren't for you and the other Fairy Tail mages I don't think I would have ever been able to return home." Bobo said with a bow, his father mirroring his actons.

"Indeed, and despite the fact that you did in fact fail to destroy the moon and miss Erza declared that we cannot offer you and your group the Jewel reward for your victory after seeing that you are an elemental summoner I would like to offer you this as a token of our gratitude." Moka said as he held out his hand, a pitch black lacrima held within.

Natsu watched as Lucy gently took the orb from the smaller demon, her face covered in surprise before she smiled and curtsied. "Thank you, Chief Moka, I shall take care of this till the end of my days." She said as she placed the gem in the bracer, the lacrima glowing with a black light.

The three stood there for a moment before Lucy looked back up. "Chief Moka, Sir Bobo, if it is not too much trouble, I would like to ask something of you and your people's past."

Natsu could see looks of surprise on the two demon's faces as they nodded their heads in approval.

Lucy paused before continuing, almost as if she was trying to gather her courage. "…long ago my mother spoke of beings that greatly resembled your people and told me that what I would one day seek could be found in the history of such people…if it isn't too much to ask, would you please share with me the origins of your people?" Natsu heard Lucy ask with a bow.

Natsu could see looks of confusion on the two men's faces as they watched Lucy, a look that was all over Natsu's own face as well.

_Wait…her mother? The same mother who told her to look for the dragons? Does that mean that this has something to do with pops?!_  Natsu thought almost in a panic as he tried to hide himself in the shadows of the tent, knowing that Lucy would drop the question in she knew that he was there.

"…while I don't quite understand why your mother would know of our people Miss Lucy, I can't see any reason to hide our origin from you." Moka declared as he scratched his cheek in embarrassment. "You need not look so nervous; I shall share with you what I know."

"…thank you very much." Lucy murmured as she stood back up, her face serious once again.

Moka crossed his arms and closed his eyes for a moment, before staring up at Lucy. "Our people have lived on this island for generations, but passed down in my family is a record of where our ancestors once came from. From my understanding our people originated far to the east of Fiore, beyond the desert and the mountains that cover the continent, and fled to this land to escape from something. but what this thing was has been lost to time. We do know however that whatever it is it was beyond understanding...it was death incarnate."

Natsu could see a shadow pass over Lucy's features as she absorbed the information before she bowed again. "I see…thank you. This has been a great help." She murmured quietly before turning and heading back into the center of the village where the entirety of the village was now celebrating, Moka and Bobo following after her.

Natsu stepped out of the shadow of the tent, his fists clenched as he watched the three move in and out of the torchlight.  _Luce…what exactly are you hiding?_


	8. Solomon's Child

As she watched her feet and counted each stone that made up the road, Lucy could feel her stomach practically doing flips as they got closer and closer to Fairy Tail.

After another painfully long boat trip and tense train ride home, their group was currently on their way to the guild hall. Erza had informed them earlier that they would all be facing punishment for the act of stealing an S-class mission, something that caused Natsu, Gray, and Happy to begin screaming in fear and Lucy herself started to shake as she attempted to reign in her emotions.

Even if logically she understood that the Master of Fairy Tail was a completely different person than the Heartfilia's her body had long ago learned to fear the threat of punishment, and the fear associated with that threat was currently dominating her mind.

 _And it's not just that…_  Lucy thought as she stole a glance at Natsu, who was currently sweating profusely as he dragged his feet.  _In the end, Natsu couldn't even trust me…does that mean that none of them ever trusted me?_ Lucy continued down her line of depressing thoughts, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes for a brief second before she wiped them away.

It wasn't exactly a brand new concept for Lucy for her to not be trusted or liked, she had been living that way for most of her life after all, but when it came to Natsu or others from Fairy Tail she couldn't stand the thought of losing their trust and betraying their expectations.

 _But…what can I do to get them to believe in me again? I can't talk about the dragons with Natsu in order to return to how we were and if we're going to be punished I doubt that any of us will be in the condition to go on missions for awhile…what do I do?_  Lucy thought in a panic, her tears threatening to spill over once again.

While Lucy was busy trying to think of some way to make things up to Natsu the five of them arrived at the front doors of the guild and Erza slammed the door open, drawing Lucy back out of her depressing thoughts into an equally as depressing reality.

The guild was surprisingly empty compared to what Lucy was used to, only those that were normally lazing around the guild present along with Mira as always behind her counter.

As their group continued their forced march into the guild hall, Mira, Macao, and Wakaba walked up to greet them.

"Hello Erza, Everybody, did you enjoy your vacation?" Mira asked with an innocent smile.

"We were there to work not to enjoy ourselves." Erza refuted instantly, her tone laced with annoyance and anger. "Is the Master present? I need to speak to him about the punishment for these fools."

"The old man said something about going to a last minute conference somewhere for the day." Macao commented offhandedly.

"Happy! We're safe for now!" Natsu declared as he embraced the blue cat, the two shedding tears

"Oh thank the gods; we won't have to deal with that until tomorrow." Gray exclaimed with a sigh, his hand resting on a nearby chair.

Watching their reactions, Lucy couldn't help but stare down at the floor and shake even more. What exactly was this punishment that even Natsu and Gray were terrified of it?

"Quiet you two!" Erza warned, causing the two mages to squeak in fear and Lucy to flinch unintentionally. "You four will still be punished the moment the master returns, you can count on that."

As Natsu and Gray started to argue with each other once again Lucy couldn't help but bite the inside of her lip and stare at the door. If the punishment was so terrifying that it caused such reactions and her place in the guild so tenuous that her partner would lie to her wouldn't it be simpler to flee now and once again return to the open road? With her bag at her side she had all the physical goods she needed, the only thing…would be abandoning the people who had opened up to her after being on her own for so long.

"I…I…" Lucy murmured as she shut her eyes, "It" sensing the turmoil in her heart and increasing its awareness of the situation in case it needed to step in and protect her.

"Lucy? Is something wrong?" Mira's concerned voice sounded off from Lucy's side, causing her eyes to snap back open to the sight of a frowning Mira.

"Oh…I-it's nothing Mira, just…worried." Lucy tired to lie with a smile, knowing full well that the barmaid wasn't likely to buy it.

However, despite the suspicions she likely had, the silver haired woman merely smiled back. "Oh I wouldn't worry about it too much Lucy. The Master tends to go easy on newcomers when it comes to punishments and I'm sure that he'll mostly be angry at Natsu for stealing it in the first place. if worst comes to worst just start crying in front of him and I'm sure he'll cave."

Lucy didn't respond in words and instead merely smiled at the barmaid, hoping to hide her fears behind a smile as she had learned to do during those long cold nights.

It was at that moment that Lucy noticed that Natsu was once again standing by the request board along with Gray and Loke, apparently planning on taking another job already.

 _I can go on a job with him in order to regain his trust!_ Lucy thought both happily and nervously, as she approached to stand behind the fire dragon slayer.

"Are you going on a job…Natsu?"

"Nah, just looking at some translation job." Natsu said as he turned around, but the moment he met Lucy's gaze he flinched and turned back to the board, causing Lucy's spirit to crumble even more.

"Holy! Your back too Lucy?!" Loke shouted out as he jumped backward, causing Lucy to flinch at his reaction.

"U-um…I'm back." She nervously greeted, causing Loke to freak out all the more.

However, as the man turned to flee he was knocked to the floor by Erza, who was quickly approaching their group.

"Absolutely not, don't even think about taking a job right now you three." She warned sternly, a warning that was ignored by both Gray and Natsu.

"Five hundred thousand Jewel for a simple translation job? This should be easy!" Natsu shouted excitedly.

"Aye! We can use it for more fish money!" Happy shouted back as he followed Natsu to the table the fire dragon slayer had placed the request on top of.

"A translation? That's a strange request for a wizarding guild." Gray commented as he leaned over to stare at the request. "Oh, its ancient text, no wonder they came to us."

"But it's got modern words next to it." Happy pointed out, causing Natsu to lean in with a grin.

"Oh ya, you can totally read this…let's see… ugo deru rasuchi boro kania…what?" Natsu said as he read out the words, only to grow more confused after reading the Fiorian translation.

Lucy, after recognizing the spell beginning, opened her mouth to inform Natsu of the words meaning when suddenly her surroundings were covered in all the colors of the rainbow, blinding Lucy immediately.

Both Lucy and "It" reacted almost instantly, taking a step back and attempting to locate the caster of the spell as well as its effects. Both Lucy and "It" noticed that Lucy's temperature was dropping drastically and that somehow her body had somehow grown a few inches in the last few seconds.

As the light faded Lucy instantly turned her head in an attempt to discover what exactly had happened…and came face to face with herself.

"…huh?" Lucy muttered unintelligently, her voice somehow deeper than it should be.

"What the Hell! My chest fells funny! And my backs killing me! what the hell was that light?" The other Lucy shouted out as she rubbed her back.

Lucy watched in confusion as Natsu screamed at the sight of the other Lucy, sprinting out of the guild a second later, and as Erza grabbed her chest like a child with a new toy to play with and Happy attempted to kick her in retaliation, something that ended in complete failure.

 _Oh, I see what happened._  Lucy thought with a sigh before waving off "It's" wariness.

"W-what the hell is going on?" Loke shouted in confusion.

Lucy was about to answer when Happy stood back up, his back straight and his face composed.

"Is it not obvious? We've all switched bodies due to Natsu reading that stupid spell!" Happy explained seriously before going on to explain that each of the wizards who had been near the table had been forced to switch bodies.

"Oh? I see someone was stupid enough to cast the Changeling spell that was posted on the request board." A new voice, belonging to Master Makarov, explained from the entrance of the guild hall.

"Welcome back Master, did the conference go as planned?" Lucy said, not forgetting to bow instead of preforming a curtsy now that she was in a male's body.

"I have to admit…seeing Gray being respectful to me is a little too strange, but yes everything is fine." The master commented with a flinch.

"Hey! What the hell do you mean by that Gramps?" Gray asked as he stomped over in Lucy's body.

" Master! What do you mean by the Changeling spell?" Erza asked with a hint of desperation in her voice, clearly trying to get the others back on track.

"The Changeling is a spell from long ago that when read aloud causes people to swap both bodies and magic." The Master went on to explain, causing the others to scream out in shock. The Master went on to say that if the spell wasn't lifted within thirty minutes it would become permanent, forcing those under its effects to forever remain in their new bodies."

Lucy frowned with Gray's mouth at the Master's words but didn't refute him. Surely the Master had some reason for lying to them about the spell right?

"No way…then do you know how to lift the spell Gramps?" Natsu asked from within Loke's body.

"Hmmm…since it's such an ancient spell it's only natural that…I don't know." Master Makarov announced, causing everyone besides Lucy to fall to their knees in defeat. "Such a shame, I was looking forward to punishing you all for stealing an S-Class mission but I suppose that you will have your hands full with this." He said before chuckling quietly and walking away.

"Gahhh I can't take this!" Lucy heard the other her shout out from behind her.

"Gray! Don't you dare take off Lucy's clothes!" Lucy heard Mira shout out a second later followed by the sound of wood striking skin. Turning around, Lucy saw Mira standing just off to the side of Gray in her own body, a wooden ladle in her hand and a frown on her face. Gray was rubbing his hand with an indignant look on his face. From what Lucy could gather the ice make mage had attempted to strip out of her clothes and the barmaid had come to her body's rescue.

As Lucy watched, Happy used Erza's magic to change her clothing into a swimsuit decorated in fish while Loke ran back into the guild with fire dripping out of his mouth almost like drool.

"What should I do now…?" Lucy murmured to herself as she watched Mira smack Her own head again as Gray was already going for the straps of her dress again.

"Don't worry Lu! I've got this!" A new voice yelled out from the entrance of the guild, causing nearly everyone inside to turn to see a grinning Levy standing there silhouetted by the midday sun.

"We've got this you guys. Team Shadow Gear will get you back to your original bodies." Jet and Droy announced with a cocky smile.

"Levy? You know how to remove the spell?" Lucy asked as she walked Gray's body over to the small blue haired girl.

"Of course I can! Besides, if you get stuck like this not only will we not be able to talk in the languages of the elemental realms anymore you'll have to be kicked out of Fairy Hills. And I'd really hate to lose my new neighbor." She said with a wink before sitting down at one of the tables with the job request and a serious look on her face.

"Listen everyone, we need to give Levy the time and space she needs to solve this mystery." Erza announced in a voice muffled by a fish, something she seemed to realize a second after finishing. "…why do I have a fish?"

"Wouldn't it be because you're a cat right now?" Lucy asked innocently, only causing Erza to sigh in defeat.

"I can't stand how easily you said that Lucy." Erza said with another sigh, falling to her knees with her paws on the ground.

Eventually their group decided to simply sit around a table in silence, each contemplating what it would mean for them to get stuck in another's body.

"So are we going to go on a job after the thirty minutes are up?" Lucy asked, completely oblivious to the mood of the table.

"Would we even be able to? After all we can't use our magic now that they've been switched on us." Gray said as he began to remove Lucy's dress again.

With no sign of Mira in the general vicinity, Lucy was about to allow Gray to remove her dress as she herself wasn't really that bothered by everyone seeing her in her underwear. But it wasn't until Gray beginning to remove one of the straps of her dress that she remembered that if Gray was successful in removing her clothing it would reveal the scars on her stomach and that would in turn bring up questions that she wasn't at liberty to discuss.

"Well then we might want to find out if we can use magic still right?" Lucy commented as she mimicked the pose Gray always used before swiping her fist across Gray's chest.

In the next second a patch of ice appeared on Lucy's shoulder encasing the last remaining strap that was protecting Lucy's purity.

Gray stared at his now frozen shoulder with wide brown eyes. "Holy mother of-, you can use my magic?"

"As expected of our master, to think you can use other mages magic's just as easily as you can use ours." A new voice complemented before a curtain of light blue hair covered Lucy's view.

"Nyneve? Didn't I tell you not to come out on your own? Especially when I'm not the one in control of my body." Lucy chastised as she crossed her arms across Gray's chest.

However the blue haired elemental merely waved off her concern for the second time. "It's fine; you have plenty of magical energy this time."

"What do you mean by that, Nyneve? Do you know why Lucy is able to use the magic of others as well as you spirits?" Erza asked as she stared up at the elemental from her spot on the table.

Nyneve stared down at Erza in Happy's body for a second before quickly reaching out and cuddling against Erza's now fluffy body. "Awwww, so cute!" The spirit cooed. "I never really noticed it before but this little guy is just beyond adorable."

"Erza! It's not fair that you get all the attention in my body!" Happy cried out in annoyance as the cat tried to make Erza appear as cute as possible, hoping to get some attention as well.

"Please stop this, Noble Elemental! I am an S-class wizard and I won't suffer this indignity!" Erza shouted out as she wormed out of the spirits grip and flew just out of reach. "Now what did you mean by you expected Lucy to be able to use Gray's magic? It would normally be beyond common sense to think that someone would be able to just use another's magic right away." Erza commanded as she crossed her paws and narrowed her big black eyes, trying to appear imposing but just appearing cute instead.

"Just what I said, Lucy here is somehow able to just use others magic's." Nyneve said with a pout. "Normally a summoner isn't able to use the magic's of their spirits, the common practice involves sitting back and having us do all the work. But for some reason Lucy here is able to manipulate another's magic and even fuse it with her own."

"Really Luce? How the hell do you do that?" Natsu asked from Loke's body, his eyes wide behind the sunglasses.

"Ummm…I don't really know how to describe it." Lucy nervously replied after a second of organizing her thoughts. "When someone I know and trust uses their magic around me it's almost like I can immerse myself in their magic, almost like putting my hand into a raging river. And I can almost…pull some of the magic out like pulling some of the water out of river if that makes sense."

Their group was silent for a moment as everyone thought about what Lucy had just said, Lucy herself feeling slightly nervous at the fact that everyone seemed to consider something she thought was simple an impressive act. It was during the moment of silence that Lucy noticed that Nyneve was staring at Loke's body with a complex expression, almost as if she was trying to figure out a complex equation while eating something sour. Natsu for his part seemed completely oblivious to the stare the spirit was sending her way but Loke was staring with his back to the wall with an almost fearful look on his own face.

Lucy narrowed her eyes and was about to question her spirit why exactly she was looking at the orange haired body so intensely when Levy screamed out from the other side of the guild.

"Hey guys! I think I figured it out!" She shouted, causing everyone to sprint over to her table.

"You managed to solve it?" Erza asked, her paws clenched in anticipation.

"Well come on, tell us!" Natsu shouted.

"Right; so I managed to translate the text here and it reads "May this eternal exchange bring happiness unto you."" Levy explained, a pleased smile on her face as she did so.

"Ok and how do we lift the spell?" Natsu asked his tone somewhat suspicious.

The guild seemed to freeze in that moment as Levy's eyes widened considerably. "Y-you…you didn't just want me to translate the spell?"

"Of course not! We needed you to break the spell so we can go back to our original bodies!" Gray shouted as well.

"I don't care either way, it's fun being Erza." Happy commented with a satisfied smile.

"No…no way…I though you guys just wanted the words translated…I have no idea you guys wanted me to break the spell." Levy said in a panic.

"Then you mean to say…that…I'm going to spend the rest of my life as a cat?" Erza asked in the most defeated tone that Lucy had ever heard.

However, there was one part of Erza's depressed question that bothered Lucy. "Why would we get stuck this way?"

"Weren't you paying attention earlier Lucy? If we don't solve the spell within the time limit we're going to be stuck this way." Gray answered somewhat angrily as she scratched at the patch of ice on her shoulder.

Lucy couldn't help but tilt her head in confusion at Gray's statement. "But the Master was the one who cast the spell, why wouldn't he be able to reverse it?"

The entire guild was silent as they looked between Lucy and the Master, the old man sweating profusely at the attention he was now getting.

"Luce…what do you mean?" Natsu asked quietly as he adjusted his sunglasses, causing Lucy to flinch at his tone.

"Well…it's just that the Master's magic was coming off of the job request, and it's impossible to actually switch the souls that are connected to a body. A mage's innate magical resistance would eventually reject the foreign conciseness after a certain amount of time."

Lucy watched as the entire guild turned to glare at Makarov, who was laughing stiffly at first before clicking his tongue. "I should have known that I couldn't slip one by someone who considers Unison Raids as something simple." He said before snapping his fingers and enveloping Lucy's vision in white. A second later the light faded, and after a brief moment of vertigo Lucy was able to tell that she was back in her own body. Nyneve had disappeared for some reason or another, perhaps she simply grew bored with the situation.

" Hell ya! I can burn things again!" Natsu shouted before sending a roar of flames at the ceiling which immediately caught on fire before being promptly put out by Gray.

"Master…while I understand punishing Natsu and the others for their foolishness, but why did you involve me?" Erza asked menacingly, causing the old man to flinch before laughing again.

"Oh I just…thought it would make things funnier." He answered before running away from the wrath of Titania.

As Lucy couldn't help but watch Erza chase around the Master, the entire guild laughing as they watched as well, Natsu ran up with a nervous expression and grabbed Lucy's hand, causing Lucy's head to whip around and stare at him.

"Hey uh Luce…come with me." Natsu said and pulled Lucy out of the guild and began running through the city streets without waiting for her answer, Happy flying right over the fire dragon slayers shoulder

As the three moved through the streets of Magnolia, Lucy's stomach began to feel almost like someone had poured ice water down her throat.  _I-is Natsu going to tell me to leave?_ She couldn't help but think as the three of them slowly made their way out of the city.

* * *

When Natsu finally stopped they were standing in a forest east of Magnolia and went so far into the woods that Lucy could no longer hear the sounds of the city behind them. The three of them were now standing next to a decent sized lake that snaked its way through the forest and surrounded in trees far older than even the city they lived in.

When they arrived Natsu released Lucy hand and moved slightly farther away from her, a complicated look on his face as he turned to stare back at her. "Look Luce…there's no real easy way to say this so I'm just gonna barrel ahead…"

Lucy couldn't help but close her eyes and tense up, the moment she had dreaded for reasons she couldn't quite understand was finally here.

"We're sorry Luce!" both Natsu and Happy shouted out, the blue cat barreling into Lucy's chest a second later.

"…huh?"

"We didn't think you would get so depressed after the mission and everything! We just wanted you to come with us on the mission!" Happy explained through the tears.

"…I honestly don't understand what's going on right now." Lucy explained as she gently patted the crying feline.

Natsu rubbed the back of his head as he stared anywhere but at Lucy. "Well…you know how I told you that the mission was a Super mission?" Natsu asked, causing Lucy to nod her head in agreement. "Well, like Erza likely told you, there's not anything called that. What we went on was an S-class mission, something only people chosen by gramps are supposed to go on."

Lucy nodded again. "Yea…she mentioned something about it when she met me on the island."

Natsu hesitated for a second before continuing. "Well I thought that we could go on a mission, all three of us, and prove our strength to Gramps. But I thought that you wouldn't do it because you're the kind of person who obeys the rules to the letter from what I've seen. So in the end we decided that we would just hide the truth for a while and make it up to you later." He explained before looking back at Lucy with an apologetic look. "So we wanted to say we're sorry Luce."

"Aye…we're really really sorry!"

Lucy watched her teammates for a second before answering their apologies. "So…you're not angry with me?"

Lucy watched as the two blinked in surprise, stared at each other for a second, and returned to looking at Lucy with confused expressions. "What the hell are you talking about?" Natsu eventually asked.

"Well it's just…I assumed that because you didn't trust me enough and that because of the fact that i haven't shared any information on the dragons with you and that you were going to kick me out of the guild." Lucy explained nervously.

Lucy couldn't help but feel even more nervous as Natsu stared at her with a surprised expression for a second before breaking out into laughter. "God Luce, you're just so weird!"

Lucy couldn't help but puff out her cheeks indignantly at the fire dragon slayer's laughter. "I know that Natsu, you don't need to keep telling me."

"Sorry, sorry…but it's just so weird that rather than getting mad at us you're just worried about whether or not we still trust you? That's practiacally the definition of weird!"

Lucy turned her head away from the now snickering pair, feeling quite annoyed at their apparent enjoyment of her anxiety. But before she could say anything else she felt a hand land on her shoulder and turned to see that Natsu was now standing even closer, a massive grin on his face.

"I don't know why I have to keep reminding you of this Luce but you're in Fairy Tail now, we're family and nothing's going to change that, even if you have your secrets and are weirder than Ice Nuts and Erza put together."

Lucy blinked in surprise as her own mouth tried to mimic Natsu's face and her cheeks began to feel hot. "I guess you're right Natsu, I just find it hard to believe sometimes. And I forgive you two by the way; I know you didn't mean me any harm."

The two stared at each other for a second in silence before Happy flew in between them, a paw covering his mouth. "You llllliiiiikkkkkeee each other."

"Of course we do. After all, I like everyone in Fairy Tail and by Natsu's own admission he does as well." Lucy replied instantly, causing Happy to sigh dejectedly.

"I should have seen that coming." The cat lifelessly commented.

Lucy watched Happy for a second before noticing that Natsu had back away suddenly, his face looking somewhat anxious despite the misunderstanding having been cleared.

"Is something wrong Natsu."

"Nope nothing at all, just thinking about the chat I'm going to have with my little buddy here." Natsu said as he grabbed Happy out of mid air, the blue feline flinching as he did so.

Lucy nodded before continuing, her face once again returning to the neutral mask she was used to wearing."Oh I see…so what was the reason that you brought me out here?"

"Oh right, I completely forgot." Natsu said before grinning again and gesturing to the lake behind them. "Since everyone said I should do something for you in exchange for lying to you we decided to bring you out to our secret fishing spot for the day."

"Aye, the fish here are super tasty Lucy! You're so lucky to get to share them with us!" Happy commented as he flew in circles, his excitement over the prospect of fish clear as day.

"I see…I am honored then that you have chosen to share this with me." Lucy replied as she curtsied in reverence, humbled by their generosity.

"Aye, that's the level of respect someone should show to this fishing hole." Happy commented with a satisfied nod before flying over to the nearby shore and grabbing one of fishing poles that was waiting.

"So then, have you ever actually fished before Luce?" Natsu asked as they walked over to the shore and Natsu began setting the bait on one of the poles.

"No, if I ever required fish I would simply summon a water spirit and have them eject the fish from the stream." Lucy replied as she sat down next to the two and watched as the whipped their lines through the air with practiced ease.

"Oh? Then I guess the two of us will just have to teach you then." Natsu happily declared. "Prepare yourself Luce; the road to mastering the art of fishing is long and painful."

Lucy gulped nervously as she nodded her head, completely oblivious to Happy's snickers from Natsu's other side.

* * *

The three fished for the remainder of the day, up until the last rays of the sun had faded into the twilight of night, and rather than having Lucy return to the dorm in the dead of night Natsu and Happy had instead invited her to sleep over at their place.

"Are you sure that it's alright? I'll be perfectly fine walking back in the dark." Lucy asked for the fifth time as she gently cradled the single fish she had managed to catch.

"Its fine, we have an extra hammock set up anyway." Natsu replied as he waved off her concern and readjusted the mountain of his on his back along with Happy who was already devouring one of the fish whole.

Lucy nodded her head and continued to follow after Natsu. In truth, the aftereffects of the Changeling spell as well as Nyneve passing through her gate on her own had drained more magic than she was willing to admit along with the intensity of their afternoon of fishing had caused Lucy's eyelids to beginning to feel much heavier than normal.

When the three finally arrived at an almost cute cottage and walked inside, Happy and Natsu instantly going into the kitchen to prepare the fish for Lucy and Natsu while Lucy was left to admire the wall of memories on the right side of the house.

After a few quick glances Lucy could tell that the two cared deeply about their time in Fairy Tail from the fact that as far as she could tell there were jobs from over ten years ago attached to the wall, likely from the time they had first started while others couldn't have been more than a month old as they were ones that Lucy had been on with them. They had even managed to get her maid uniform somehow.

Lucy couldn't help but smile as she examined each job request, her eyes lingering on the ones she had personally been involved in, and almost wanted to laugh at the fears she had been fighting against earlier that day. It was clear seeing their home that there was no way that Natsu and Happy hated her for the fact that she was hiding something related to the dragons, although that didn't mean that if the full truth came to light that their opinions wouldn't change.

Lucy frowned for a second before shaking away her unpleasant thoughts. So long as she behaved as she was expected to behave there would be no reason that Natsu and the others would ever hear of what she was, and what she had done. She could stay in Fairy Tail.

"Hey Luce! Hope you like your fish burnt, since Natsu's cooking that's all your going to get!"

"Of course that's how you cook food Happy, that's the only way that it's any good!"

* * *

After an interesting meal and an intense night of attempting to remain steady in a hammock, the three Fairy Tail mages calmly made their way back into town and headed immediately for the guild, all three of them looking forward to eating some of Mira's breakfast.

"So what do you want to do today Luce? Want to go on another job?" Natsu asked as he turned to smile at her.

"Mmm…that's fine with me, so long as The Master approves of us going out."

"Don't worry; the old man probably had an awful time yesterday dealing with Erza so I doubt he's going to bother with anymore punishments today."

The three continued to chat about nothing of consequence as they approached the guild hall but as the building came into view all three stopped, their eyes wide in shock.

The guild hall looked completely different from when they had left; large metal poles jutting out at seemingly random and in some places there were just massive holes in the wood.

Someone had attacked the guild and ruined their home, and not a single one of the three present were willing to let this attack go unpunished.


	9. Solomon's Child

Lucy couldn't help but stare at the ground as she tried to get her tremulous emotions in check, her anger at having her new home attacked and damaged in such a obvious way was bringing old wounds to the surface, wounds that Lucy would have preferred to keep buried deep within the depths of her mind.

Lucy turned to stare at Happy and Natsu, seeing a look of confusion and terror on formers face while the later had a glare that even Lucy couldn't help but shiver at the anger held within.

"Someone…someone did this to our guild!" Natsu practically hissed as he glared up the now partially destroyed guild, wisps of flames swirling around his body. "Who? Who would dare to attack our home!?" He practically roared.

Lucy frowned at his question, unsure as to whom out of the multitude of people she knew that would be more than willing to attack a guild she was associated with, but before she could answer her partner Gray, Erza, and Mira all approached, looking depressed as well as furious.

"It was phantom…" Mira answered quietly, causing Natsu to whip his head to glare at her.

"You sure? Phantom did this?" Natsu confirmed and upon receiving a nod from Mira turned back the way they came, clearly intending to attack and destroy whoever this "Phantom" was. But Erza had a hand on his shoulder before he could even take a single step forward.

"Not so fast Natsu, the Master has asked all members to report to the guilds basement in order to confirm everyone's condition." Erza ordered in a voice that sounded calm but was more akin to a blade drawn from its sheath. "Besides, I cannot allow you to attack them without the Master granting his permission."

Natsu turned back to glare at Erza for a second, apparently weighing the choices of either obeying Erza's orders or simply making a run for it, but after quickly looking over at Lucy and seeing her anxious eyes gazing back at him he sighed loudly and turned back to the guild and stomped through the front door followed closely by Erza and Gray, their own faces now just as angry as Natsu's.

Lucy watched them go inside the damaged guild hall before approaching Mira. "Mira, what did you mean when you said Phantom did this? Were we attacked by a spirit?"

Mira chuckled lightly at that, a sad smile on her lips as she stared back at Lucy. "No Lucy, the dead aren't attacking us. Phantom refers to Phantom Lord, a guild that has always been at odds with our own but up till now they've never been so aggressive." Mira stated, her smile falling away to be replaced by a worried frown when she finished.

"D-don't worry Mira, I'm sure that Natsu and the others will handle anything these Phantom's have in store for us." Lucy declared, trying her best to sound like she was chipper but knowing full well that she had never had a talent for comforting others.

Mira looked more surprised at Lucy's newfound chipper attitude rather than comforted, but smiled all the same a few seconds later. "I suppose they will wont they, come on now we have to get down there and see the Master. Besides, if I keep you up here too long I'm sure Natsu will come right back up looking for you anyway." Mira said, confusing Lucy before gently grabbing her hand and leading her into the guild and down a flight of stairs.

Lucy was surprised to see that nearly all the still standing tables had been relocated to a basement that Lucy hadn't even been aware existed. The various members spoke in hushed voices at their various tables but with anger clear on their faces, Lucy was afraid that if someone dropped a pin they would all jump up and attack. Lucy could see Levy and her team sitting only a few tables away, Jet and Droy looking downright murderous while Levy just looked depressed.

Levy looked up, seeming to sense Lucy's gaze on her, and managed to force out a smile which Lucy returned in kind. Lucy felt for the blue haired girl, as Levy had admitted that Fairy Tail had been her home for nearly the entirety of her life and seeing it damaged in such a way couldn't be easy.

"Hey kids, how you doing?" Lucy heard Master Makarov ask, his words slurring together slightly likely due to the alcohol in his hand. Turing to the source of the noise, Lucy saw that Natsu and the others were currently facing the Master and Lucy quickly moved to join them.

"Why the hell is everyone just sitting around?" Natsu questioned but was promptly ignored by the now drunk guild master, the old man turning his attention to Lucy instead.

"Good morning Lucy, did you have a nice night?"

Lucy did her best to force out a smile as she bowed slightly. "I did Master, thank you for asking."

It was then that Erza stepped forward, clearly just as frustrated as Natsu but not allowing her anger to get the better of her. "Master, do you not understand the situation we're in?"

"Our home has been completely demolished, how can you just sit around like this?" Natsu his anger only growing at the Makarov's apparent inability to get angry.

"Now now, there's no need to get all worked up or anything. It's not like it's the end of the world." The Master placated before taking another swig of liquor. "After all, why should we bother with a bunch of cowards who had to wait until no one was home before attacking?

"No one was hurt in the attack?" Erza clarified, Mira nodding in confirmation.

"It all happened last night after everyone had left."

"Well at least there's some comfort in that." Erza said with a sigh.

"There's no resone to worry about those who don't even have the guts to face us head on. Just forget about those fools." The Master continued with a casual wave of his hand.

However, this only seemed to piss off Natsu all the more, as the dragon slayer promptly put his fist through the nearest crate. "Hell no Gramps, we can't just turn our backs after they've attacked us like this!"

"We're done talking about this Natsu, we will take jobs down here until the upstairs is repaired." The Master announced, starting to sound a little more annoyed with Natsu insistence.

"Why would we worry about job request right now? We got to take the fig."

"Natsu! That's enough out of you!" Makarov yelled as he jumped to his feet and smacked Lucy on the butt, causing her to simply blink in surprise and stare at her rear with a confused look on her face.

Mira turned to glare at the guild master, a pout on her lips. "Hands to yourself Master!"

The old man simply chuckled and jumped away, announcing his intent to relieve himself.

Natsu clenched his fists at his side as he stared at the floor. "I don't get it…why's he not angrier about this?" Natsu questioned.

"He is Natsu, probably more than any of us. But the guild charter prohibits fighting between guilds." Mira explained in a patient tone of voice, a patience that was lost on the furious pink haired boy.

"But they started it! Why can't we go give them a taste of their own medicine?" Natsu shouted as he threw his fists in the air in a childish display of disappointment.

"I know that Natsu but that doesn't change the law. Our hands are tied here." Mira said her tone shifting slightly as she continued to lose patience for Natsu.

Natsu looked like he was about to reply but was stopped by Erza's outstretched hand. "If the Master's decision is to do nothing…then we will respect his wish, even if we don't agree with it." Erza commanded in a no nonsense tone, Natsu and Gray tensing at her command, their jaws practically locked in anger.

Lucy watched her family with a pensive look of her own, worried for the immediate future of her new family.

* * *

The rest of the day went about as well as Lucy expected, with only the occasional one word responses from those she tried to talk to and a generally depressed air to the entire guild. Lucy had filtered among her colleagues, trying to start up a conversation with whoever she could despite the fact that being the one to engage in conversation was far outside her expertise. However, no matter what she tried she was only able to get a few short sentences out of the others and Lucy was forced to simply give up and sit around waiting for the day to end.

She couldn't really blame them however, as having your home destroyed by others was never something easy to accept, something Lucy knew far too well. Lucy had considered exacting revenge for Fairy Tail herself, but decided against it in the end. She had almost no info on these apparent Phantoms and even if she did attacking them so close to the date that her own guild was attacked was certain to arouse suspicion.

"This has become quite the predicament hasn't it everyone?" Lucy quietly asked the ghosts of her past as she made her way back to Fairy Hills for the night.

When Lucy reached her room and was mere moments away from opening the door to her room she noticed the presence of multiple people waiting in her room.

Lucy narrowed her eyes, the instincts beaten into her brain taking hold for a brief second, but relaxed when she heard the noises of laughter on the other side. If someone was after Lucy for what she had once been they would most certainly do a better job of hiding their presence and most certainly not be laughing in their targets room.

Placing a smile on her face once again, Lucy opened the door to see exactly what she expected, Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Happy all sitting around her table enjoying drinks that they had likely taken from Lucy's fridge.

"Welcome back Lucy, I must say this place looks quite nice now that it has been decorated." Erza greeted before gesturing to Lucy's closet. "I realized after our little shopping trip the other day that you have a criminal lack of armor, so I took it upon myself to place some of my older and less restrictive pieces among your belongings."

Lucy smiled as she made her way into her kitchen, getting a glass of water for herself before joining the others at the table. "Thank you for that Erza, but if you don't mind me asking why are you all here? I was under the impression that males were forbidden from entering the premesis."

"They are normally, but I have granted These three special permission so long as they do not leave this room…isn't that right boys?" Erza answered before looking at the three mages in turn, each flinching slightly under her glare and saluting unintentionally.

"Aie Ma'am!" They shouted in unison.

Erza nodded, pleased with their response, before once again turning to Lucy. "And as far as why we are here; since the guild was attacked it stands to reason that some members of phantom are still in town. It isn't too much of a stretch to think that they might not be done with us yet and may go so far as to attack our members." Erza explained dispassionately before taking a sip of her tea.

"Mira suggested that everyone group up, in case some of the fools decide to push their luck." Gray continued on where Erza left off.

"Aye, its Fairy Tail sleepover night!" Happy announced as he lazily flew over to the fridge and retrieved a whole fish, something Lucy had no memory of placing within but accepted all the same.

"And as you are a well off teenage girl I wouldn't dare allow Gray and Natsu to stay here by themselves. I felt that I could only relax if I stayed here myself and ensured neither of these boys would attempt to impugn your chastity."

Natsu, who up to that point had been sitting quietly with a frown on his face, turned to Erza with a half frown on her face. "It isn't the time to be relaxing!" but his outburst was ignored by all present.

Lucy nodded again, accepting the situation, before once again returning to the kitchen. "I see…well if everyone is staying with me tonight then I guess I'll have to make more food then I normally do."

"Oh! Loookie Erza, I found some sexy underwear of Lucy's!" Happy announced with glee as he threw something black through the air.

Erza blushed almost instantly when she reached up by pure instinct to catch the undergarments. "I wasn't aware that you had such…unique tastes Lucy." Erza mumbled, Gray and Natsu peeking around her shoulders and whistling to themselves at what they saw.

"Hmmm?" Lucy mumbled as she stuck her head out of the kitchen to see what Erza was talking about. "Ah, those are something Cana gave to me, she said something about it helping out my teammates when they get stressed but I couldn't get her to elaborate on what she meant." Lucy explained as she went back to the kitchen.

 _That explains it._ All three thought as Erza stood up and returned the underwear to its rightful place, her movements somewhat stiffer than normal.

Dinner was fairly normal, or as normal as it could be with four eccentric mages and a talking cat present, and now they were all in various corners of Lucy's home relaxing.

Lucy, having just finished a bath, sat down at her table and looked to Erza, questions that she had accumulated over the course of the day fresh in her mind.

"Erza? Do you know why this Phantom Lord guild would attack us out of the blue?"

"No, I'm afraid not. We've never been on the best of terms with them but an attack on a guild building is far outside the scope of our rivalry" The scarlet haired mage explained, her eyes narrowing as she recalled that day's events.

"If Gramps wasn't so scared of them we could take them easily." Natsu commented with a huff from Lucy's couch.

"Common Natsu, you know that Gramps isn't afraid of them. He is a member of the ten wizard saint after all." Gray lazily declared from Lucy's desk where he was currently reading one of the elemental language translations that Lucy had put together for Levy.

"He is scared! He probably thinks that Phantom has too many members for us to handle or something stupid like that." Natsu said as he slammed the palm of his hand against the couch, his frustrations from earlier rising to the surface once again.

"That's not true and you know it. It's just like Mira said, if we go to war with them the entire magical world will get turned on its head. It's just not worth putting Fairy Tail in jeopardy just to get revenge." Gray calmly refuted, his eyes matching Natsu's own in levels of anger despite what he had just said.

"…are they that strong?" Lucy questioned through narrowed eyes.

"Heh, we can take them, they're nothing special." Natsu refuted with a cocky grin.

"No…if we went to war with them neither guild would survive the aftermath. Their strength rivals our own." Erza calmly analyzed. "Their guild has a system similar to our S-class mages and their Master bears the title of Wizard Saint as well. And not only that, but they posses a dragon slayer of their own. An iron dragon slayer."

Now Lucy's undivided attention was on the older woman. "Are you sure of that? They have a dragon slayer as well?"

Erza opened her eyes to stare at Lucy; she had almost forgotten that their newest member had apparently some connection to the dragons as she herself had admitted before ever meeting Erza. But whatever that connection was she stubbornly kept to herself. But Erza could not fault her for not speaking about her past when she was the same way. But that wouldn't stop Erza from being curious about whom exactly Lucy was behind all her masks.

Erza simply nodded, causing Lucy to mumble under her breath and stare down at the floor in clear contemplation.

The room remained quiet for a time before Erza clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention back to her. "Alright, I think that's enough discussion for tonight. It is time for us to retire for the evening." She announced unilaterally.

Lucy watched as Gray and Natsu mumbled their complaints, a faint smile on her lips, but her smile vanished when she realized that she hadn't heard any noises coming from Levy's room.  _She would normally by home by now, especially on a day when the guild was attacked….is she staying with her teammates?_  Lucy thought trying to come up with a reason the blue haired script mage would be absent, but even that excuse somehow left a sour taste in her mouth and she could only pray that whatever the reason she was missing was wasn't what Lucy was considering in that moment.

* * *

However, Lucy's hopes were not to be. As shortly after waking up reports from the southgate park were practically being shouted across town. Lucy and the others made a beeline for the commotion, and what they discovered horrified them.

Crucified to the tree in the center of the park…were Jet, Droy, and Levy. Each badly beaten and unconscious with a strange symbol painted unto their chests.

Lucy could hear Happy gasp in shock while Gray and Erza glared up at the tree in barely contained fury. But no one compared to Natsu, who looked like he might explode from the anger that was eating away at him.

It was then that Makarov approached slowly, a white robe decorated with a blue symbol that Lucy recognized as the mark of the Ten Wizard Saints upon its back.

For awhile no one spoke, each dealing with their anger in their own ways, but after a brief time Erza finally decided to break the silence.

"…Master…" She mumbled quietly, desperately trying to keep her anger under control.

The Master said nothing at first, his eyes simply staring forlornly up at his now injured children. "I can take them destroying our guild hall…but I will NEVER allow them to spill my children's blood without taking revenge!" He shouted as his grip shattered the staff in his hands, his magic exploding outward from the sheer force of his anger. "We have no choice but to go to war!"

Lucy herself could feel an almost chilling fury creeping up from the depths of her mind as she watched Natsu Gray and Erza nod at the Masters words before rushing off to the guild likely to gather their allies in preparation for the fight. Lucy's fury continued to grow, "It" reacting to her emotions and preparing itself as well but Lucy couldn't allow it to gain any purchase in her mind, her training thawing the ice cold fury mere moments after she felt it.

Walking forward with purpose, Lucy silently opened a gate to the realm of wind, Anu passing through his gate a second later. The spirit needed no prompting, as they could all feel Lucy's emotions through their link, and with a swipe of his hand cut away the metal bindings that held the mages up and gently lowered them to the ground all by using his wind.

The moment the three were laying on the ground Lucy moved in to inspect the damage with a practiced eye, identifying their worst injuries before turning to Makarov. "Master, we need to take them to Magnolia Hospital." She quietly declared.

"I understand child." Makarov solemnly answered, gesturing to a few officers who had come to inspect the commotion.

"Also Master, I would like to remain in Magnolia to both guard and assist in Levy and her teams recovery." Lucy continued as she stood up.

Makarov looked once again at his newest child, her emotions hidden behind a mask that she had spent far too long perfecting and her attitude more akin to a soldier rather than a seventeen year old girl. "I understand…I shall have Mira join you at the hospital to keep you company."

Lucy bowed slightly her mask never faltering under the strain of her emotions. "Thank you Master, I shall pray for your victory."

Makarov watched as Lucy turned to the recently arrived paramedics and began to recount for them what exactly had transpired.  _Stay safe my children_  He silently prayed as he turned and began to make his way to the guild, certain that Natsu and the others had already rallied the others for war.

* * *

Mira watched as Lucy worked, her hands and the blue haired spirit behind her glowing with a bright blue light. She had been beside herself when word of Levy's and the others wounds reached her, but when she arrived at the hospital she was surprised to see Lucy already having finished dealing with the worst of both Jet's and Droy's wounds and had moved on to healing Levy. The blonde haired mage had even managed to put a metal chest plate, gloves, and greaves on, protecting her vitals but allowing her freedom of movement, and had still managed to beat Mira to the hospital.

The armor, something Mira assumed had come from Erza, along with the bow strapped to Lucy's back gave her an almost militaristic appearance, something that seemed like the young girl would be uncomfortable with but Lucy seemed right in her element.

Mira couldn't help but frown in worry as she watched Lucy work a wetness gathering in the corners of her eyes.  _If only…if only I still had my power! Then I might have noticed Levy and the others being hurt right under our noses._ Mira cried in her mind, her hands clenching as she struggled to keep her emotions in check.

The silence was broken when Lucy sat back down after dismissing her spirit, her skin covered in sweat and her eyes shut in exhaustion. "That's all I can do for them right now." She said as she rubbed her forehead. "I have to keep some of my magic in reserve in case they come back to finish the job."

Mira smiled at the younger mage as she placed a comforting hand on her head, happy when she felt Lucy lean in to the contact. "Don't worry about it Lucy, at least you can help our family."  _Unlike me…_

Lucy frowned however, leaning forward with her hands clasped on her legs. "No…I don't deserve to be thanked."

"What do you mean by that?"

Lucy was silent for a moment before turning to Mira, her face filled with worry and anxiety. "Last night…I noticed that Levy hadn't returned to her room before retiring for the night. But rather than report it I simply decided to explain it away." Mira was surprised to see tears of her own gathering in Lucy's eyes, the normally stoic mage finally cracking under the weight of her feelings. "I don't deserve to call myself her friend."

The moment Lucy finished Mira moved her hand to Lucy's shoulder and stared at her with an intense gaze. "Don't do that to yourself Lucy, there was no way you could have know that Levy and the others were being attacked. And even if you don't believe that, the fact that you can tend to their wounds is more than anyone in Fairy Tail is capable of doing." She said before bringing Lucy into a hug. "Thanks to you, I'm sure that those three will be fine and when they wake up we can all go back to the guild and wait for the others to return from their raid." Mira said as she broke off the hug with a wink. "And of course drinks will be on the house."

Lucy smiled and opened her mouth to reply, but before she could even utter a syllable her mouth snapped shut and her eyes widened. Mira watched as Lucy's head whipped around to stare out the window and she quickly followed the blondes gaze to see it was now raining heavily outside, something not exactly that strange if it weren't for the fact that the sky outside had been completely clear only moments ago.

"What is…?" Mira mumbled as Lucy stood ,her bow now in her hands and a serious look on face. Her eyes scanning the surroundings and her finger just off of the taunt bowstring.

The room however remained silent besides for the patter of raindrops on the window and the occasional sound escaping from the lips of the three patients sleeping in the room. The silence didn't last for long, as the two women noticed the sound of someone approaching murmuring something under their breath.

"Drip, drip, drop." The voice, now sounding very effeminate, continued to repeat as they approached the door before knocking lightly.

Neither Mira nor Lucy moved to answer the door although Lucy did draw her bowstring and aimed squarely at the door. But whoever was on the other side did not open the door. The silence continued again, Mira standing as well ready and willing to defend her family even if she had no powers, but both girls jumped when a new voice sounded off.

"Non, non, non! Non, non, non! There is no reason to hesitate Lady Juvia, we are here for a very specific assignment and there is no reason to be polite." A man said from Droy's bedside, having apparently simply appeared out of nowhere.

"Oh, I see Monsieur Sol. Then excuse me." The woman's voice answered before opening the door. Revealing a blue haired and blue clothed woman standing in the doorway with an umbrella in her hand.

Mira could see Lucy's eyes narrow but otherwise she didn't move in response to the two newcomers. "This room is currently reserved for Fairy Tail members. If you wouldn't mind leaving the two of us would greatly appreciate it." Lucy warned in a calm but cold tone, the threat in her words not falling on deaf ears.

The man turned to stare at Mira and Lucy, a beyond creepy grin on his face. "Ah I apologize mademoiselles, but we have business here as you are our cible my dear." The man announced as he gestured to Lucy.

The girl in question tilted her head at that. "…Cible?"

"Ah forgive me, I mean our target." The man said before bowing. "I am Sol, Sol of the Earth, one of the Element Four. And my companion here is the rain woman Juvia, also of the Element Four." The man continued.

Mira gasped, "Y-you're with Phantom? Did you come here to attack us again? Have you no shame?" Mira yelled angrily, her fists clenched at her side.

However, Sol shook his head slowly. "Non, non, non! As I said we are only here for your blonde companion there." He said as he gestured to Lucy. "So then mademoiselle, would you be as kind as to follow us?"

"…And if I refuse?" Lucy asked quietly, lowering the bow slightly.

"Then Mister Sol and Juvia shall have to subdue you by force." The woman by the name of Juvia replied in a neutral tone.

The room was silent for a moment before Lucy sighed and lowered her bow completely. "I see, and a fight here would have dire consequences for the injured."

"Correct! I do so love it when our targets know their positions!" Sol said with a laugh as he gestured for Lucy to step forward, the blonde complying almost instantly.

"Lucy!" Mira shouted as she jumped forward and grabbed the younger mages arm, worried about what exactly Phantom Lord would do to the naive mage.

Mira sucked in a breath when Lucy turned back to face her with a smile on her face despite the fact that she couldn't know what her fate was. "Mira, would you please hang on to my bow for me and inform the Master when he returns about what has transpired here?" Lucy asked, handing over her weapon before Mira could answer.

"No! they can take me if they're looking for a hostage, I refuse to allow them to hurt more of my family!" Mira shouted as she moved to stand in front of Lucy, blocking her from advancing.

However, the woman known as Juvia shook her head in refusal. "Juvia apologizes, Miss Mirajane, but our Master has ordered us to obtain Miss Lucy and no one else, we will accept no alternatives."

Mira bit the inside of her lip as she tried to think of any way to escape this situation, but before she could she felt a small shaking hand on her shoulder. Turning around, Mira saw that Lucy had placed the bow against the wall and was smiling at her still but was clearly still afraid.

"It's alright Mira, I knew something like this would happen the moment I joined Fairy Tail. I'm just sorry that you had to get dragged into it." Lucy apologized before stepping around Mira and glaring at the two phantom mages. "I am ready."

In the next second a sphere of water appeared around Lucy, trapping her within and leaving her hovering off of the ground. Mira could see her eyes go wide in surprise for a second but otherwise she did nothing to stop them, and after running out of air her eyes closed again as unconsciousness overtook her.

"très bien! Mission accomplished!" Sol announced before gesturing to Mira, causing shackles of earth to appear around her feet. "Now if you wouldn't mind remaining here we would greatly appreciate it. Now Miss Juvia, let us return home to inform the Master of our success." He said as he began to sink into the floor.

"Understood, well then Miss Mirajane, if you'll excuse Juvia." The woman said with a bow before turning and walking out of the room, the watery prison that held Mira's unconscious friend following closely behind.

Mira waited until the sun was once again shinning outside the window before crying out and collapsing into a fit of sobs and tears.

"Damn it…DAMN IT! How could I fail my family again? Why? Why can't I help those I love before they're taken from me?" Mira cried out to the heavens in between sobs, the memories of her long lost sister returning to her mind in a storm.

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry Lucy." Mira continued to cry, praying that she would get the chance to say those words to the girl herself in the future.

* * *

Makarov slowly ascended the stairs, his fury growing with each one he treaded. How dare Jose hurt his children? How dare he attack so brazenly? The Magic Counsel could go to hell for all Makarov cared at that point; Phantom Lord would burn for harming those under his care.

The moment he reached the top of the building the door that bared his way exploded in a shower of wood chips and Makarov could see Jose sitting casually at the other end of the hall smiling arrogantly at him.

"Well, well…isn't this a surprise." Jose said with a chuckle.

"Jose! What in the world are you playing at?" Makarov asked as he continued to approach, his magical energy destroying the stone around him. the wizard saint refused to answer however, prompting Makarov to send a massive fist hurtling at him. But when the magic infused flesh struck the chair, he knew that Jose had fled rather than face his might. "A projection? Have you no honor you coward?"

Jose however simply continued to chuckle. "A fight between the two of us would result in nothing but a catastrophe. And besides, I have already stolen your greatest weapon out from under your nose so I see no reason to bother with you pathetic fairies any longer."

"What the hell are you talking about Jose? Come out here and fight me like a man!" Makarov shouted his magic flaring in response to his rage.

That rage however, dropped drastically at the sight of a new projection appearing at the feet of the other wizard saint, a sight that Makarov couldn't quite comprehend at first.

"L-Lucy? But why?" Makarov finally stuttered out at the sight of the unconscious blonde.

"Oh come now Makarov, there's no need to hide the truth among wizard saints." Jose said before finally noticing Makarov's confused face, and began to laugh even louder than before. "Oh…oh this is too rich! To think that you've had such a weapon at your disposal and you didn't even know about it!" He said as he continued to chuckle for a few seconds more before slowly drawing a dagger from his coat pocket. "But oh well, no reason to tell you at this point. As the poor girl isn't long for this world." He said as he brought the dagger down on Lucy's skin, drawing blood almost instantly.

"No! Stop!" Makarov shouted before reaching out, completely forgetting about the fact that neither she nor Jose were present currently. And in his panic he completely failed to notice the mage that had come up from behind him.

 _Lucy…I'm sorry_ The elder mage managed to think before his magic, and his consciousness, faded away.

* * *

Natsu roared in anger as his family began to fall back around him. Their battle had been going great, Natsu had even managed to land quite a few good hits on the iron faced bastard, but everything had gone wrong the moment Gramps had fallen from the ceiling.

Whatever had happened to the old man was apparently bad enough for Erza to give the order to retreat, and that wasn't something the red haired demon would order easily.

Natsu however would have none of that. He was still brimming with so much fury that he could easily take on all the pathetically weak mages in front of him. Hell, he could easily take on their dick of a master the way he was now.

As he clocked a man in the head, sending him spiraling through the air, his ears picked up on metal head speaking to one of his bastard friends. "So what happened with that Lucy chick? Did the others get her?"

Natsu's world practically stopped as he stared up at the other dragon slayer, his eyes wide in shock at the mention of his partners name.

"It's so sad, the poor wretch is currently being held in a gloomy cell at headquarters. The Master is already preparing to "Welcome" her." the man with covered eyes answered from Gajeels side.

"GAJEEL!" Natsu yelled up at his fellow dragon slayer, drawing the metal heads attention and causing him to grin arrogantly.

"We'll settle this next time Salamander." He taunted before disappearing into thin air.

"Natsu? What's wrong?" Happy asked as he flew next to his foster father, a fish held at the ready in his paws.

"They…they kidnapped Luce." Natsu spat out like the words were poison, Happy gasping in surprise and shock. Natsu instantly wheeled around and grabbed the nearest Phantom Lord member, the man squeaking like a little girl at the sight of Natsu's deadly grin. "You and I are going to have a little chat."

"Yes sir! Just please don't kill me!" The man squealed as he tried desperately to escape from Natsu's iron grip.

Within minutes Natsu and Happy were gone from the Phantom Lord branch building and heading into the mountains behind it, Natsu's face full of anger while Happy's was one of worry.

"Talk…what did you bastards do to Luce?" Natsu asked in a deadly quiet voice, sending shivers down both the captured man's and Happy's spines.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about man!" the man said in a panic

"I said talk." Natsu repeated, his flames now covering his hand and therefore the man who was his prisoner.

"Oh god man, seriously…I don't know who this Lucy chick is or why you think we have her."

"If you dare to hurt anymore of my friends…then I swear I'll turn you all into ash." Natsu threatened as the flames covered his body and spiked in temperature, causing the man much more pain and Happy to fly a little farther away in order to avoid being burned.

"I seriously don't know! But if its someone the Master wanted she's probably in the headquarters up ahead!" The man shouted as he continued to burn.

"Then you should have just said that in the first place." Natsu said as he tossed the man headfirst into a nearby stone, knocking him unconscious instantly.

"Natsu…what are we going to do now?" Happy asked, sounding like he was close to tears at the prospect of Lucy being hurt by Phantom.

"Isn't it obvious? We burn everyone who stands in our way and we take Lucy home." Natsu answered as the massive towers of the Phantom Lord Guild hall came into view.

* * *

The first thing Lucy felt when she awoke from her near drowning experience was pain, not exactly something she wasn't used to but still not a great way to return back to the land of the living. Keeping her eyes closed and her breathing even, Lucy quickly took stock of her current situation. She could tell instantly that both her legs and arms were bound by something stronger than rope, likely steel or magically infused metal of some description. She could feel a sharp pain on her right wrist that was quite a shock to her. Under normal circumstances "It" would activate the weave to cut off any sense of pain her body would experience but whatever the wound was "It" apparently wasn't able to help.

She was currently lying face down on a cold stone floor and could feel a draft that chilled her more than she would have thought possible. The last thing she remembered was being trapped in the water spell of one of the members of the Element Four, Nyneve screaming at her to allow the spirit through her gate but Lucy refused to put Levy and her team in any more danger than they had been in already and as such kept the water sprits gate closed. Now however she could feel no reaction from the elemental gems, despite the fact that the bracer was still attached to her wrist and the gems were all still present.

 _Alright then…let's see what I'm dealing with._ Lucy thought grimly as she sat up and slowly opened her eyes, not surprised in the least to see that she was currently in a cell.

"Well this is a surprise. I didn't think you would regain consciousness so quickly." A voice said with a chuckle a second before a man appeared, wearing an outfit that even Lucy found strange.

"I assume that you are the one who desired my capture?" Lucy asked as she tested the strength of her bonds, not surprised by the fact that they didn't even budge.

"Indeed I am, Jose Porla at your service." The man said with a bow. "I apologize for the seal now cut into your arm, but I couldn't allow your spirits free reign while you slept."

 _This man is a member of the Ten Wizard Saints._ Lucy thought grimly as she glared up at the man. "So why exactly have you chosen to capture me? Someone so new to Fairy Tail won't have much value as a hostage."

Jose laughed at that. "Oh no my dear, I'm afraid that you've got this all wrong. We didn't attack Fairy Tail intending to go to war with them, although I do admit I do enjoy causing them pain." He said before flashing Lucy a predatory smile. "No my dear, we attacked them in order to obtain you…Subject One."

Lucy's world turned cold as she sucked in a surprised breath, her mind momentarily stopping completely and even "It" Stopping in surprise.  _No…no no no no no no NO!_  Lucy thought in a panic that she desperately tried to keep off of her face but knowing the effort was wasted just by seeing Jose's grin growing even wider.  _How….how did he find out about it?_

"Oh it wasn't that hard my dear." Jose began, apparently easily reading her mind now that it was in complete chaos. "As one of the Ten Wizard Saints I have access to quite a bit more information than your average mage." He bragged, pausing for dramatic effect. "But I must admit, it was quite difficult to locate you after the fires on that day. I had to bribe more than a few officials to find you. To think you not only joined a legal guild, but of all the guilds you chose Fairy Tail."

Lucy cried out as a foot struck her stomach, the pain somehow worse than it should be. "Did you think that if you joined a light guild you could wash away the filth that covers you? What arrogance." Jose spat as he grabbed a handful of Lucy's hair, causing her to winch as he lifted her into the air. "But not to worry my dear, in a guild like mine you shall be used just as you were always intended to be. That I can promise you Subject One."

Lucy began to shake uncontrollably at what the Wizard Saint was implying.  _No…I-I can't let him make me into what I used to be._ Lucy decided, her thoughts calming considerably as a plan began to form in her head.  _I can't allow it…no one can be allowed to obtain that power again._ Lucy decided grimly.

Lucy waited, her body going limp as Jose proceeded to drag her out of her cell door and from what Lucy could tell intending to take her to another room that he had prepared especially for her. Lucy could tell that for some reason the cell she had been kept in was at the top of a massive tower, something that may be to keep prisoners from escaping but for Lucy in this situation was now her only way out. She waited until Jose had dragged her right to the precipice, clearly intending to teleport, but before he could Lucy made her move.

Lucy's two legs, still bound together, lashed out and swiped the Wizard Saints legs out from under him. The man yelled in shock as his face hit the stone wall with a sickening crack. Lucy wasted no time and despite the fact that "It" was roaring in anger at her she still jumped backwards into open space.

The wind roared around her as gravity began to pull her down to her intimate end, but Lucy simply closed her eyes and smiled, happy that she wouldn't have to live though losing control again. However, her smile quickly faded as the faces of her newly made friends passed though her head.

 _Everyone, I hope you can forgive me for this…but I can't allow Jose to obtain that power._ Lucy thought depressingly as the wind continued to howl.  _Happy….Natsu….I'm so sorry._ And at that, her consciousness mercilessly fading before the ground rushed up to meet her.

* * *

Natsu wasn't one to brag…to much…but he truly believed that he was very hard to surprise. After traveling around for so many years in addition by being raised by a dragon had pretty much destroyed his ability to be shocked by anything. He had seen everything from woman over three times his age fighting on par with Erza and creatures that quite literally made no sense whatsoever.

But even for him, seeing Lucy fly off of the ledge of one of Phantom Lords towers caused his heart to stop for more than a few seconds.

But after watching her free fall for a few seconds Natsu finally reacted, roaring a battle cry and releasing a jet of flame in order to leap forward with his hands outstretched to catch her. Lucy was mere feet away from the ground when Natsu practically slammed into her wrapping her head in his arms and throwing his body in between her and the ground. The two of them flew sidewise as they struck a nearby collapsed wall, the two crashing through it like it was made of paper.

"Wow! It's Raining Lucy's!" Happy shouted as he flew over to his two downed teammates in order to check on their condition.

Natsu quickly extracted himself out from under his partner in order to inspect her, and what he saw made him want to tear down their guild right then and there. The blonde's arms and legs were tightly bound by magical sealing bonds that were far too small for Lucy, the metal chafing away the skin to the point that she was bleeding underneath the metal. He could tell from the dirt on her clothes and the dents on her chest plate that she had been beaten, and judging from the fact that they were nearly all in the same spot it was likely that she had been unconscious when she had been attacked.

But that wasn't even the worst of it. On Lucy's right arm, just underneath the silver bracer, was a seal that was carved directly into her skin, the blood still flowing from the open wound covering nearly her entire arm in red.

In order to keep himself from combusting right there and there Natsu had to slam his fist into the ground, creating a small crater the moment his fist struck the earth. "Those BASTARDS! HOW DARE THEY DO THIS TO LUCE?!" Natsu shouted as he glared up at the tower, wishing that the entire building would burn down right there and then from the sheer volume of his anger.

Happy landed next to Lucy, tears falling from his eyes as he regarded their teammate. "Natsu…what do we do now?" He asked switching his gaze between Natsu and Lucy in worry.

Natsu clenched his jaw as he looked back down at Lucy, noticing that he skin was paling as she lied there. In that moment, Natsu wanted nothing more than to rip the entirety of Phantom Lord limb from limb. But with his partner bleeding and injured in his lap he knew what he had to do.

"We're going back to the guild Happy, Luce needs first aid and we need to let everyone else know what's going on." Natsu said as he cradled Lucy in his arms and started running back the way he came.

But even as they slowly pulled away from the enemies headquarters Natsu couldn't help but look back at it, his eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.  _Just you wait Phantom, I swear I'll murder you for what you've done to Lucy!_


	10. Solomon's Child

Most people who watched Mira move through the Fairy Tail infirmary would have thought that she was using magic to move so quickly, but for those who knew her understood that it was mainly due to her talents as a waitress along with a grim determination formed from Lucy's kidnapping.

The barmaid had informed Erza and the others of what happened to Lucy the moment they returned. And after cursing and slamming her fist into a nearby wall, something that actually caused the wood it was comprised of to crack under the force ofthe blow, Erza started to form a rescue party for their wayward blonde.

It wasn't long however before Gray pointed out that both Natsu and Happy hadn't come back with the rest of Fairy Tail, likely having gone after Lucy themselves and suggesting that they hold off on sending the rescue team for a few moments. As no one thought that Natsu would actually fail in retrieving his teammate.

Erza had agreed almost instantly and decided that those who had been chosen for the rescue team would instead treat their injuries first and then go out to meet the fire dragon slayer, as she too couldn't imagine Natsu failing but didn't trust him to return her in the gentle manner that a woman required.

And thus the members of Fairy Tail were now focusing on recovering from their raid, nowhere near done with Phantom but needing to lick their wounds for the next fight.

Mira for her part was angry but was trying to keep it hidden from the others, not wanting to cause any of her patients to flinch as she tended to their injuries. She was furious, furious at Phantom for kidnapping Lucy, furious at Laxus for refusing to help unless he got Lucy as a reward, but more than anything…she was furious at herself for her powerlessness when faced with those who wanted to harm her family.

It was while Mira was lamenting her lack of strength that Natsu slammed through the infirmary door with Happy right his tail, an unconscious and pale Lucy in his hands.

"Mira! I need help here." Natsu shouted as he practically ran to an open bed and gently placed his charge down, his eyes wide in panic.

"Natsu! What happened? Is she ok?" Mira asked as she rushed over and suck in a breath as she saw Lucy's condition.

"No, I only managed to find her when she was falling from a tower and she passed out before I even caught her. The bastards actually carved a magic seal into her arm." Natsu managed to say through clenched teeth, his anger so prevalent that he risked setting the whole building on fire but Mira wasn't about to chastise him for that after seeing the state Lucy was in.

Lucy was in much worse condition than the last time Mira had seen her. The girl's arms and legs were bound together in metal cuffs so tightly that Mira couldn't help but wince and rub her own wrists as she looked at them. Her arms and legs were dotted in blackish blue spots, likely from being beaten in her captivity. But by far the worst visual injury was on her right arm that Natsu had mentioned. Blood covered her lower arm and while the wound wasn't currently visible, as Natsu had apparently ripped off a part of his vest in order to bind it, but from the sheer quantity of blood that covered her arm she could guess at how bad it was.

"Natsu! Did you say that you got Lucy back…damn it!" Gray asked as he walked up and noticed Lucy's wounds, his magic responding to his anger and chilling the air. His own magic mixing with Natsu's and making the surroundings a mixture of both hot and cold air.

Mira couldn't help but sigh as she inspected the bindings on Lucy's hands and legs. "First off, calm down you two. Your magic running rampart will only make things worse." She quietly warned, Natsu and Gray flinching slightly but reigning in their magic. "Next; Gray, I need you to freeze the metal slightly and make it as brittle as you can so Natsu can shatter them ok?" she ordered.

"Right…here goes." Gray said as he leaned over and placed his hands over the cuffs and released his magic on the metal, the bonds being covered in frost. Gray had to be careful, if he used too much magic he would end up freezing Lucy's skin underneath the metal as well further injuring his teammate and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

Gray waited for a few moments more before turning to Natsu and nodding his head, giving the fire dragon slayer to go ahead. Natsu nodded back, and in a single motion got his hand in between the metal and Lucy's flesh and ripped away the now brittle metal.

Mira couldn't help but winch as lucy's wrists were exposed, revealing that the skin underneath had indeed been rubbed raw and was bleeding slightly. "Alright, good. Now do the same for the ones on her ankles while I deal with these wounds on her wrists." Mira commanded before wrapping Lucy's wrists in bandages while Gray and Natsu went to work on their task.

"Mira! I have heard that Natsu was successful in the rescue of Lucy, is it true?" Mira heard Erza ask from the entrance of the infirmary, followed shortly by a curse of her own and the sound of fist striking wood as she too saw Lucy's condition.

"Don't damage the guild anymore Erza, we have to repair it eventually after all. And I need your help looking over the rest of Lucy's wounds." Mira warned.

"What? Why can't I help you with the rest? She's my partner after all." Natsu questioned angrily as he ripped off the shackles around Lucy's feet, wincing slightly as a shard of the metal hit him in the face and drew a small amount of blood.

"Because while I don't doubt that Lucy wouldn't care if you see her without clothes on I wont allow you to see her like that unless she says you can. So out!" Mira warned as she showed the two boys away and shut a curtain around Lucy's bed.

Turning back around, Mira saw Erza standing over Lucy's inert form with her arms crossed and her face taunt with anger. Mira could understand Erza's thought process somewhat; her former rival was likely blaming herself for failing to keep the younger mage safe just as she was likely blaming herself for what happened to Master Makarov.

"Erza," Mira started drawing the red head's attention, "just promise me one thing. When you get ahold of Phantom's master you give him a good hit for me for what he's done here."

Erza smiled at that and uncrossed her arms. "After what he's done I'll be more than willing to drag him back here for everyone to get a chance at hurting him."

Mira laughed lightly at that, before her face once again became serious and turned back to Lucy. "But still, even for never having gotten along I can't believe they would do this to one of our members. Do you have any idea why they would target Lucy?" she commented sadly as she began to clean Lucy's wound, knowing that it would be a miracle if it didn't leave a permanent scar.

Erza frowned at that, her anger returning in full force. "I cannot say. Even compared to what was done to Levy and the others this was outside of what would be acceptable in a simple rivalry. This is brutal to the point of being against laws, both Fiorian and those from the magic counsel. Does Jose Porla simply no longer care about the legal repercussions of going to war with us? Or is there some other reason he targeted Lucy?" Erza mused out loud, not really expecting an answer.

The two worked in silence for a while, cleaning and tending to Lucy's noticeable wounds, but Erza stopped when she noticed the dirt and scuff marks on Lucy's stomach. "We need to check her ribs as well. It looks like Jose decided to kick her for awhile as well."

"Right…" Mira replied as she slowly removed Lucy's dented chest plate and slipped the straps of her dress off of her shoulders.

However, she didn't even get close to revealing the girls stomach when she stopped with a loud gasp, Erza mirroring her reaction. "Erza…what is that?"

Upon Lucy's chest, right above her heart was, was an old scar quite similar to the one that was now on her right arm. However this one was far older, a scar from days long past.

But the most shocking part was not the scar itself, or even the fact that today was not the first time someone had carved into the poor girl. No, the worst part was what the scar was carved to look like.

Upon Lucy's chest was the carving of a dragon's neck and snout roaring with a tail forming a circle around it. The carving was only about the size of Lucy's palm but it was carved so intricately that neither woman wanted to think on the pain she must have gone through when someone cut it into her chest.

The two women exchanged nervous looks before continuing on with their ministrations. Lucy had never hidden her connection to the dragons, but neither had expected her connection to be quite so…physical. Despite the shocking revelation however neither felt the need at that moment to bring it up to their own ornery dragon slayer, they did have a war to fight after all.

Finishing with Lucy's wounds, Erza called Natsu and Gray and Happy back into the room, the five of them now standing just off to the side of Lucy's bed.

"How bad is she?" Gray asked, trying to keep his tone as calm as he could.

Mira tried to smile reassuringly, but it only came across as tired. "Not too bad, she might have some cracked ribs but at the very least nothings broken…it's just that…"

"The seal on her arm might never fade away." Erza cut in, her tone dark and filled with anger. "She may never be able to use magic properly again if it leaves a scar."

Gray's eyes widened in shock and his jaw clenched in anger at what had been done to his teammate. Erza had her arms crossed again, only so that she wouldn't end up punching something again and damaging their home even more.

Natsu and Happy looked absolutely apocalyptic, Happy had tears in his eyes and was beginning to sniffle. Natsu on the other hand looked about ready to kill the entirety of Phantom in retribution.

"Why…WHY!? Why hurt Luce so bad? She wasn't even part of the raid and hasn't even been a member of Fairy Tail for that long. Why do this to her?" Natsu yelled in his fury, drawing the attention of everyone in the infirmary.

"Why do you think they had an actual reason Natsu? Its Phantom, they do whatever they want and damn the consequences." Gray coldly declared, only feeding into Natsu's own anger.

Erza was about to reprimand the two for being so loud, when all four heard the sound of Lucy groaning and turned to see her eyes flutter open.

"Lucy!" They all shouted as they rushed to her side, worry clear on their faces.

"...Everyone…"Lucy murmured quietly, Natsu could tell from the look on her face that she wasn't all there yet, her gaze unfocused and distant.

"Lucy, do you remember what happened? What did Jose want with you?" Erza questioned kindly but firmly, trying to jog her younger companion's memory.

"I…I was in the tower." Lucy slowly stated, her gaze remaining distant as she tried to make sense of the situation. "I was…bound and then…Jose Porla was there…and then…" and in the next second Lucy's eyes widened considerably and a gasp escaped her mouth startling the others.

"Lucy? What's wrong?" Mira asked worriedly as she placed a hand on the girls shoulder but Lucy didn't even seem to register the touch, her eyes staring at something no one else could see.

Lucy said nothing as she threw off the covers and turned to get up, ignoring Mira's and Erza's yells to remain in bed. Natsu for his part felt a worry deep down in his chest that he couldn't explain but understood nonetheless.

If he let Lucy get up she was going to run, and if she got away he would never see her again and Natsu wasn't about to let that happen.

So Natsu did the only thing he could think to do at that moment. In one single motion he stepped forward and wrapped Lucy into a tight hug, ignoring the surprised sounds that came from Mira's and Erza's mouth and the whistle and snicker that Gray and Happy let loose.

Lucy for her part practically squeaked, having apparently not even registered Natsu was present at first, before weakly trying to escape from Natsu's arms.

"N-Natsu…I can't…I have to go." Lucy all but cried as she struggled against Natsu's arms, her own arms feebly pushing back in an attempt to free herself.

But Natsu would have none of that, as his grip only tightened all the more and he used one of his hands to place Lucy's head in the crook of his neck, his enhanced hearing picking up on her quiet sobs. "Hell no Luce, you're our family and you're not going anywhere." Natsu declared his voice surprisingly calm and authoritative.

"Flame Brain's right Lucy. You've got to be as dumb as he is if you think we're just going to let you walk away now." Gray commented with a chuckle, causing Natsu to growl slightly.

"Aye!" Happy agreed from the bed, looking nervous at Lucy's loss of composure.

Lucy struggling lessened slightly but did not stop completely. "But I…I."

"Lucy, lay back down sweetie, once these three have decided on something there's no going against them." Mira said with a smile as she gestured to Erza, Gray, and Natsu. Erza nodding her head in agreement.

Lucy stopped struggling at that point but Natsu could still hear the occasional sob escape from her lips and he couldn't stand to hear them. Lucy was one of the strongest and strangest people he had ever met. She was able to stand down mountain sized demons and fight against evil wizards without so much as a flinch. But whatever those phantom bastards had done was enough to break her down to this degree? Natsu couldn't accept that, and he most certainly wouldn't let it go unpunished.

Phantom and Gajeel would burn for this.

* * *

When Lucy finally regained some semblance of calmness Natsu lowered her back onto the bed, the blonde mage looking worried beyond compare as he did so. The infirmary remained quiet for a moment as the others went back to their own tasks with the exception of those who had been looking after Lucy already. Mira was sitting beside Lucy, a hand gently petting her on the head in order to calm the younger girls nerves, something that had a clear effect on her as the mask they were all so used to seeing once again concealed her emotions.

"I…apologize everyone." She eventually said, the others giving her confused looks. "I should not have allowed my emotions to get away from me; it was unneeded and unwanted in a situation such as ours."

"Don't worry about it Lucy, it would be even stranger for you to not freak out at what you've been through." Gray dismissed with a wave of his hand, the others nodding in agreement. "But how are you feeling? From what I saw those bastards didn't really seem to be pulling any punches with you."

Natsu watched as Lucy's eyes narrowed and she rolled her shoulders, apparently taking stock of her various injuries. "…no issue, my ribs feel a little bruised and my wrists hurt but otherwise I'm fit for battle."

"Are you sure Lucy? Even with…that on your arm?" Mira asked quietly as she gestured to the bandage that covered the seal carved into Lucy's arm.

"Ah, I forgot about that." Lucy murmured quietly as she looked at her arm grimly. "Then I shall simply have to rely on physical combat."

It was at that moment that Happy chose to land on Lucy's bed to stare up at Lucy with large worried eyes. "Lucy, why were they after you? Did their master say anything?"

Lucy visibly flinched at the question, closing her eyes for a moment before staring back at Happy with conflicted emotions. "That's…"

But whatever Lucy was about to say was lost when both the guild and the ground underneath them began shaking violently. Everyone looked up in shock, but before anyone could ask what was happening Alzack ran into the guild, yelling about something approaching Magnolia.

The five of them, along with nearly everyone else in the guild that was still able to move, ran outside to see something no one could have expected. The entirety of the Phantom Lord guild was currently walking through the water and approaching the guild.

"W-what do we do now?" Natsu heard Wakaba ask in a panic as the guild hall continued to approach but no one answered him, everyone was simply too shocked by the strange sight of a walking guild hall to say anything.

"I never anticipated that they would go to such lengths to attack us!" Erza said to no one in particular as the Phantom guild hall stopped moving just off the cost and a panel pulled away, revealing massive cannon in its place. A cannon that was quickly gathering magical energy.

Natsu figured out what was happening a second too late as Erza was already rushing ahead in her Adamantine armor and Gray already had a grip on his arm to keep him from doing anything to get in the way. Natsu was forced to watch as Erza intercepted a stream of magical energy that she was just barely able to fend off, one of her strongest armors shattering under the strain and sending her rolling across the ground to lay in a heap next to the crater she had caused.

"Erza!" Natsu shouted out as he shook off Gray's hold and ran to Erza's side to inspect the damage. Erza's body was covered in small cuts and bruises and from what little Natsu could feel of her magical energy she appeared to have completely expended all of her magic in order to block the attack.

"Makarov has fallen, and now you're precious Titania can no longer stand. Surrender Miss Lucy to me immediately or I will destroy your pathetic guild once and for all." The voice of Master Jose announced over their loudspeakers, his tone making it clear that he would allow for no negotiations.

Natsu was about to shout out an answer when Erza's head shot up, her gaze fierce. "We would never betray her like that! You'd have to kill us first!" She declared, a chorus of guild mates yelling along with her.

"You can stop asking for her! Because our answer isn't going to change! We're taking every one of you bastards down!" Natsu yelled out himself, his guild mates roaring in agreement.

"Then I guess I'll just give you a second helping of Jupiter! You have fifteen minutes to pray for forgiveness before I end your lives you pathetic fairies!"

Natsu could hear murmurs of worry behind him but he didn't care, he knew exactly what he had to do even before Cana mentioned it to him. He needed to tear apart the cannon in order to protect the guild.

However, before took off for the giant cannon Natsu took a second to look back at Lucy, who was currently being taken away from the frontlines by Mira. His partner still looked far too worried, her eyes wide and her body shacking noticeably.

 _Don't worry Luce, I swear ill keep you safe._ Natsu thought as Happy lifted him into the air.

* * *

Lucy was getting very tired of waking up in new places, she decided as she blinked away her drowsiness and sat up to see where exactly she was now. She could see Reedus painting very close by, his eyes glancing up occasionally to see if Lucy was ok, but other than him Lucy couldn't see any other person present in the warehouse she currently found herself in.

"Reedus…what?" Lucy started, but quickly remembered what exactly had happened. Mira had pulled her aside to avoid having Lucy taken during the fighting. Lucy had wanted to refuse, arguing that she was just as capable of fighting without her magic and that this was all her fault in the first place, but Mira simply ignored her argument and cast a light sleeping charm on her instead, knocking her out and forcing Lucy to suppress "It" as it wasn't too happy with being knocked out again.

"I apologize Lucy, but Mira asked me to bring you to our safe house while you were out." Reedus replied without looking up from his painting. "From here you should be safe while the others defeat Phantom."

Lucy however, knew better than to believe they were safe. She stood up so fast that Reedus almost forgot that she was unconscious a few seconds ago and she glared at the massive double doors that barred entry into the room.

"No Reedus, it looks like we won't be safe here." Lucy refuted a second before the door exploded in a shower of wood and metal shrapnel. Where the door once stood three figures were now standing, two tan skinned mages and a man who stood a good head taller with metal stubs all over his body and red dragon like eyes that watched them like a predator stalking his prey.

He was Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer, and Lucy understood perfectly well that with her magic sealed she had no chance against him.

The two Phantom mages moved in to attack Reedus within seconds of the door disappearing, separating the paint mage from Lucy, while Gajeel casually walked into the room smirking arrogantly at Lucy.

"Heh, cant believe that the pathetic fairies thought that they could hide you inside the city. Almost makes me want to cry at how much they underestimated a Dragon Slayer's nose."

Lucy didn't answer as she slowly began to maneuver into a better position. She knew that her own physical combat skills were rusty to begin with and even then without fully allowing "It" to control her limbs she doubted she could match a dragon slayer in hand to hand combat.

 _But I can't risk giving over control. If Master Jose knows about who I once was then he most certainly as set up countermeasures for "It". In fact, I don't doubt that it's his goal to get me to hand over control._ Lucy couldn't help but think grimly as she took a combat stance.

She saw Gajeel's eyes widen slightly at her combat stance, but he began laughing madly only seconds later. "Oh, now this is something good. Little miss fairy princess here thinks she can beat me without magic? This is going to be so much fun!"

Lucy again didn't bother to reply, trying to focus on reading her opponent's first move. But despite this she was completely unprepared for when Gajeel's arm transformed into a metal pole and lashed out to strike Lucy square in the stomach and send her flying into a crate. Despite the pain her bruised ribs Lucy still jumped back up and moved as fast as she could to try to close the distance between them.

The two continued to exchange blows but it was quite clear that Gajeel held the advantage with his iron dragon scales and far greater physical strength. Lucy did manage to get a few good hits in but in the end Gajeel was the one standing over her limp and panting form.

"Did better than I thought you would princess, but only as good as any other Fairy would do." Gajeel taunted as he kicked Lucy in the stomach again, sending her into a coughing fit. "But it's about time for you to give up now. Master Jose doesn't take too kindly to people making him wait."

"Well then he's going to be waiting for quite awhile, as there's no way you're walking out of here with Lucy." A new voice replied, shocking both Gajeel and Lucy. Lucy looked past Gajeel's legs to see Loke standing in the doorway, his eyes fierce and golden magical energy swirling around his fists.

"Loke…?" Lucy questioned, not really trusting her own eyes in that moment. Ever since their initial interaction Loke had avoided her like the plague, so why would he come to her defense now of all times. And from what he had heard Loke used magic based in his rings to create wind storms, so how was light now emanating from his hands?

"Another Fairy for the chopping block eh?" Gajeel said darkly as he cracked his knuckles. "Great, been meaning to get some more warm up for my rematch with the Salamander." And with that Gajeel charged at the orange haired mage, who promptly retaliated with a blast of magic.

Lucy stood on shaky legs as she watched the two mages duke it out. Loke was holding out surprisingly well all things considered and Lucy couldn't help but be drawn to his magic. Lucy was somehow getting the impression of familiarity and a sense of security from his magic, but with her own magic sealed she couldn't figure out any reason for her reaction.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Gajeel pointed an accusatory finger at Loke, his face a scowl of annoyance. "What the hell is up with your magic you bastard? And why do you smell so weird?"

"I don't have any reason to answer you, and the ladies never complain about a smell so I don't know what you're talking about." Loke cockily replied as he readied his magic, however, before he could even take a single step his eyes widened and his body shook.

Lucy instantly recognized that Loke was having some sort of a seizure, and Lucy was certain that if she had managed to notice the man's loss of control then Gajeel was certain to as well.

Sure enough, Gajeel flew forward and slammed Loke into a nearby wall, pinning him there with a single arm. "Well so much for a warm up. Time to say goodnight Fairy." He darkly declared as he transformed his free arm into a massive blade, the tip of which was only a few inches away from Loke's throat.

"Stop!" Lucy shouted out, drawing the two men's attention. "I surrender, leave my guild mates alone." She solemnly declared as she walked forward confidently.

"What?" Gajeel growled without releasing Loke. "Like hell I'm going to spoil my fun just because some prissy little fairy told me to-." Gajeel started before the words died in his throat.

Gajeel had lived a good deal of his life on the streets and the darker corners of cities that most wouldn't want to acknowledge, let alone go into, and his times in those places had given him a greater sense of danger than even most other dragon slayers.

And those senses were currently telling him to keep his mouth shut and accept the girls terms.

The look in her eyes was completely unlike the looks any fairy should be capable of making. A look so cold that Gajeel had to actively suppress himself from shuddering. The girl moved forward completely unlike someone who had such bad wounds, like to her they were nothing more than scratches. And for the first time, Gajeel couldn't help but think that she wasn't even taking their previous fight all that seriously.

"Tch, fine…I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with a main course of Salamander." Gajeel mumbled as he released Loke and returned his arm to normal. "Well then let's get going."

Lucy did not reply as she slowly walked to the Iron dragon slayers side, but Loke grabbing onto her dress caused her to stop. "What are you doing Lucy? Don't just give up because of me."

Loke watched in horror as Lucy smiled sadly down at him, a grim determination clear on her face. "Sorry Loke, I know firsthand that it isn't easy to watch someone being taken away. But I'm not someone who should be fought over." She said as tears began to escape from her eyes. "It's just better for me to fade into the darkness again, Fairy Tail's just too bright for someone like me."

"Lucy!" Loke tried to yell out but in the next second Gajeel had grabbed Lucy around the waist and leapt away from the building, heading back in the direction of the guild. "Damn it…damns it! Why? Why can't I protect the people I care about when it really matters?" Loke slumped backwards in defeat, gaze one of complete defeat. "I'm really pathetic, aren't I Karen?"

* * *

As Lucy was carried back in the direction of the two warring guilds she couldn't help but notice how gently the older dragon slayer was in holding her. admittedly she was being carried under his arm like a piece of luggage, but considering how badly he had beaten her only a few moments ago he could have most certainly handled her rougher.

"What the hell? The fairies managed to defeat the giant? What the hell is wrong with Juvia and the others?" Gajeel asked to no one in particular as the two guild halls came into view, the phantom lord guild hall having transformed into a massive humanoid shape at some point but it had fallen down and didn't seem to be moving.

"You shouldn't underestimate Fairy Tail so much; in my time there I have never seen them fail in what they set out to do." Lucy quietly warned as Gajeel jumped into one of the holes blown in the side of the guild.

"Ha! You can go ahead and tell me that when they manage to do more than just throw themselves in front of my fists."

Lucy remained silent after Gajeels arrogant bragging as she was brought to a large room in the center of the guild, the walls covered in a dark metal. Gajeel practically threw her down in the center of the room and promptly chained her to the floor in the same magical resistance cuffs she had been bound with only hours ago.

"Well well well…welcome back Lucy. We missed you dearly after your little escape." Lucy heard Jose say with a dark chuckle, a shiver passing through her body at the sound of his voice. "Well done Gajeel, I knew I could at least count on you to get the job done."

"No problem Master. But what do you want me to do now? Go get the little fairies in the guild?"

"No no, I shall handle those insects. I want you to guard Miss Lucy here, I'm certain that a certain little dragon slayer will be coming after her soon."

Gajeel smirked at that, mumbling about how much he was looking forward to a real fight, before walking off leaving Lucy and Jose by themselves.

Lucy glared up at the older man who returned her gaze with indifference. "Why go through all of this Master Jose. If you know about what happened all those years ago then you know you can't keep me controlled anymore than they did. And the magic council won't stand for someone trying to make use of me again."

"Oh I don't think I have much to worry about when it comes to the magic council. If worst comes to worst I can just sick you on them." Jose said with a chuckle. "And my dear Subject One, did you really think that I wouldn't prepare a way to keep you under control?"

Lucy was about to ask what he meant, but before she could she noticed something on Jose's finger that made her blood grow cold. Jose was wearing a blood red ring on his hand, a ring that Lucy knew far too well.

"Oh? Did you notice? Like I said earlier, being a member of the Ten Wizard Saints gives me access to many interesting relics. Including rings that were designed by the late Heartfilia family to control their more…"unruly" patients."

Lucy looked down then, her eyes wide as she considered the implications of what Jose having that ring meant.  _If he has that…then he really can force "It" to listen to his orders. But even still…how does he plan on making me give it control? If he has that then he should know that it I can keep it suppressed._

"Oh I quite enjoy seeing that look of confusion and fear on your face. It almost makes it worth your little escape earlier…almost." Jose said with a scowl, his hand lashing out and striking Lucy across her cheek. But Lucy didn't cry out or even turn her head to lessen the blow, simply glaring back at Jose with fury clear in her eyes. "Heh… a good look for one such as yourself, but I have guests to entertain so until next time Miss Lucy, I'm sure that I'll be seeing you very soon." And with that he left, likely to attack more of Lucy's friends.

"This is…all my fault." Lucy mumbled as she tried to keep her emotions in check, as "It" Would respond to her compromised feelings. However, her concentration was broken when a metal dagger flew past her face leaving a tiny cut across her skin.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that." Gajeel apologized in a tone that sounded anything but sorry. "I was just thinking about how boring it's going to be waiting for the Salamander. So you're going to help me pass the time." It was then that an iron dagger appeared in his hand, apparently conjured by his magic. "I suggest you keep still fairy, wouldn't want you loosing an eye too early." And with a laugh that sounded a little too close to madness threw the dagger, the metal flashing in the dim light as it sped past Lucy's arm.

Lucy remained completely still for awhile, choosing instead to simply glare at the iron dragon slayer as he continued to throw knives at her. But after one of his blades left a paper thin cut on her arm she decided it was finally about time to warn him.

"I wouldn't continue if I were you Dragon Slayer." Lucy warned, Gajeel raising an eyebrow but stopping mid throw. "If you continue to hurt me it will just come back around to you. Natsu Dragneel doesn't take too kindly to Fairy Tail members being hurt, and I have no doubt that when he shows up here and sees what you've done his fury will be more than what you can handle."

Lucy could see Gajeel's eyes go wide for a second before he laughed manically again. "Oh is that so? Can't say I'm not tempted to hurt you more after hearing that. But haven't you figured it out yet?"

"What are you talking about?" Lucy questioned, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Gajeel held his arms out gesturing to the entire room. "This room was built for just me, so long as I'm here, nothing can beat me."

Lucy, not sure exactly what he was talking about, looked to the walls to try to understand. And understanding came fairly fast. The walls, the ceiling, and the floors were all covered in a back metal that Lucy easily identified.

"Did you figure it out, little Princess? This room is covered in iron. This is an execution chamber"

 _He's right, Natsu doesn't stand a chance if he comes here. There's no hope of him winning._ Lucy knew better than most how strong a dragon slayer became if they consumed their element, even if said element didn't come directly from a dragon.

"But if the Salamander gets stronger the more I hurt you, then I might as well go for broke." Gajeel continued, another dagger appearing in his hand. "I wonder how mad he'll get if I make you look like a pin cushion." And with that he threw the dagger directly at Lucy's shoulder, however it never hit as the floor underneath erupted into flames and consumed the dagger in a flash.

Both Lucy and Gajeel knew exactly what the flames meant, but their reactions were complete opposites. Gajeel smirked victoriously, eager to get the fight started, while Lucy's was one of fear, knowing that Natsu was walking into a trap.

The flames continued to build, taking the shape of a dragon with its wings outstretched and its head roaring to the heavens, as Natsu jumped up from the hole.

"Natsu!" Lucy started, but stopped at the look of pure fury on her teammates face.

"Heh, I knew you would take the bait Salamander." Gajeel taunted as he cracked his knuckles.

Lucy saw Natsu quickly glance at her, before returning his gaze back to the iron dragon slayer. "I hope you don't think you're walking out of here after what you've done to Luce, Iron dragon." Natsu growled as his flames condensed around his fists. "Luce…just wait here, I'll finish this soon." Natsu declared before charging forward, his attention now completely focused on his opponent.

Lucy watched to two exchange blow after blow for a few minutes before turning at the sound of someone running up to her and seeing Happy approaching with tears in his eyes.

"Lushi! Are you okay?" Happy cried as leapt into her stomach, trying to wrap his tiny arms around her in a hug.

"I'm fine Happy, but Natsu…" Lucy tried to comfort the tiny cat before looking back up at the two dragon slayers. Seeing that Gajeel had covered his body in iron scales but Natsu didn't seem to care, landing blow after blow on his opponent.

"Don't worry Lucy! Natsu's more fired up now than ever before, I'm sure he'll be fine." Happy replied as he tried to pull off Lucy's bindings but to no avail.

Lucy watched as the two slayers apparently decided to stop testing each other and kicked started fighting for real, moving so fast that neither Lucy nor Happy were able to fully follow their forms as the moved about the room, tearing apart the iron plates around them and causing shock waves to shake the room each time they struck each other.

However, Lucy's fears were realized when Gajeel decided he had enough of playing around and decided to finally begin eating the iron underneath his feet.

"What the hell! How come you get to eat?" Natsu shouted indignantly.

"Well then go find some fire yourself, dumbass." Gajeel returned in between bites. Lucy could hear him swallow from across the room and in the next second his power exploded exponentially, sending shock waves of magical energy flying across the room.

"Oh no! Natsu!" Happy shouted as Natsu was sent flying across the room from Gajeel's attack. "If only Natsu had some fire he could beat this bastard down!" Happy cried out as Gajeel slammed Natsu's head into the ground.

Lucy bit her lip as she tried to think of a way out of the horrible situation. She could tell that Natsu's still had the will to continue fighting and his innate strength was still going strong, but without a source of fire he just wouldn't have enough magic to win. Looking down at her right arm, Lucy's eyes fell on the crimson gem that seemed to be burning from within.

She knew that the spirit within wanted to come out, to deal death to her enemies and was far stronger than the magic seal that was etched into her arm could possibly contain. But if she let it loose…she would be playing right into Jose's hands and the wizard saint knew that, which is why he had set all this up.

"Don't…worry Luce…I got…this." Lucy heard Natsu murmur as he struggled back to his feet, only to be beaten back down again by Gajeel.

"Natsu…" Lucy replied, before her gaze became serious.  _That's right…its not just me who's fighting. If I do nothing, those who opened their hearts to me will only continue to suffer. I have to do what I can to make sure Natsu and Happy can get out of here. I just wish…that I could stay with them._

"Happy," Lucy said in a serious tone, drawing the cats gaze. "I need you to tell Natsu something after this. Can you do that for me?" She asked, trying her hardest to smile reassuringly.

"Lucy?" Happy slowly replied, not sure what Lucy was getting at. "What is it?"

"Tell him…that in order to stop me, he has to be willing to kill me." Lucy solemnly declared, Happy sucking in a startled breath at her statement, however, before Happy could ask what she meant, Lucy had already closed her eyes and concentrated on a very specific elemental lacrima.

 _Please…_ Lucy asked with her mind, ignoring the paws on her legs trying to shake her and get her attention.  _Please…I need your help to keep them safe. I know I have no right to ask for this…but please, I beg you._

For a second Lucy was certain that she would be ignored, but then it replied. Not with words, as the connection wasn't strong enough for that, but Lucy could feel its willingness to aid her despite their lack of contact.

 _Thank you_. Lucy replied happily before opening her eyes to look once more at Natsu before taking a deep breath and screaming out the name that she both feared and loved, the name of her oldest and most powerful elemental.

"Ifrit!" Lucy screamed, causing her world to become nothing but fire.

* * *

Natsu was furious and was in more pain than he was willing to admit. The damn iron bastard had gotten a leg up on Natsu by eating his damn element but Natsu wasn't willing to just give up because of that, not with Lucy chained to the ground just behind him. But even still he couldn't figure out a way to get back on an even playing field.

 _Eh, who gives a shit; I don't need fire to beat this guy!_ Natsu tried to encourage himself as he charged in again, intending to slam his fist into the smug pricks face.

Or that was what he intended to do before what felt like the sun appeared behind him.

Natsu could hear Lucy scream something and Happy cried out in shock, but by the time he turned around to see what was wrong something new was standing just above his best friends.

At first Natsu couldn't make sense of what he saw, the creatures form so different from what he was used to that it just caused his mind to stop temporary. But after a few seconds his mind kicked back into gear and he took in everything he was seeing.

The creature was taller than any human, standing nearly the same size as Igneel, and was covered in flames that coated its skin like a cloak. The creature's arms were covered in so many muscles that it could put Elfman to shame. The weird monster had no legs, instead it seemed to be held up by a jet of flame that propelled it upwards and its head held two massive curled horns.

Despite the fire and the heat that Natsu could feel even from his distance both Happy and Lucy seemed fine, but the heat was so high that the metal around them and around Lucy's wrists was melting away.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Natsu heard Gajeel scream in a panic from his left but Natsu had no time to answer him, his own thoughts scattered as he tried to make sense of the situation.

But he very quickly recovered when the creature bent down to stare at Lucy and Happy and placed one of its massive hands resting right next to the two, causing Happy to yelp in surprise.

"Happy! Luce! Hang on!" Natsu shouted rushing forward but was stopped by a wall of fire bursting out of the ground beneath him. Of course he wasn't burned by the flames, his magic protecting him, but the sheer force of the flames sent him skidding backwards.

Natsu watched as the creatures face approached Lucy and Happy, Happy crying out in fear but remaining in between its face and Lucy, trying to protect the shaking blonde.

But Natsu could see that the creature wasn't looking at Happy, its eyes were solely focused on Lucy, who currently had her eyes shut and her arms wrapped around her chest in an attempt to protect herself.

Despite the roaring flames, Natsu could still hear Lucy stammer out something, her voice quiet and filled with pain. "I-Ifrit…pl-please." Was all she managed to get out before grabbing at her head and whimpering.

The creature regarded Lucy for a moment before turning its gaze on Natsu, who flinched at what he saw. The creatures gaze was filled with sorrow and anger in equal measure as it regarded Natsu, but behind that all Natsu could have sworn he saw a look of recognition in its gaze.

But before Natsu could think on what he saw the creature stood back up and held its hand out in front of it. And before anyone could do anything the room became a landscape of fire.

Natsu couldn't help but yelp in shock as the ceiling, the walls, the floor…pretty much everything that wasn't a living being was covered completely in flames so tall that he almost couldn't see the difference between the ones on the ceiling and the ones on the floor.

"Don't know what's going on but I'm not one to turn down a free meal." Natsu happily declared as he began to suck down the flames around him but didn't seem to be doing anything to lessen the fires that surrounded them. "I'm fired up now!" he shouted as he rushed forward at the shocked Gajeel.

Using the flames the creature provided, Natsu easily beat Gajeel into the ground and then some and Natsu couldn't be happier. For some reason the flames that surrounded him felt different than normal, they seemed to burn hotter and there was an almost fierceness to them that he couldn't help but compare with his pops.

 _Got to admit, I like these flames!_ Natsu couldn't help as he watched Gajeel to make sure he really was down for the count. But his happiness quickly ended when he heard Lucy scream louder and with more fear laced in her voice than Natsu would have thought possible.

Whipping his head around, Natsu could see Lucy through the flames, her hands still clutching her head but her eyes were wide with fear as they stared at something Natsu could not see. Her screaming continued to tear through the air as tears escaped from her eyes.

"Lushi! Lushi! Please, what's wrong…Lushi!" Natsu could hear Happy crying out but Lucy didn't seem to hear him, her cries only growing more animalistic.

"Luce!" Natsu shouted out as he ran to be by her side. But before he could reach her the crying stopped suddenly, and that only caused the feeling of dread inside Natsu to grow even worse.

* * *

Lucy's mind was pure chaos. The flames licking at her skin and the heat burring her body brought out the memories that she had been desperately trying to suppress.

She knew…she knew that she wasn't back in the hell she had escaped from, but her mind just couldn't accept the truth, the memories overlapping with reality and drawing her back to a time when she was so much younger and far to weak to save those who relied on her.

 _I'm sorry everyone…I'm so sorry!_ She screamed in her mind as a physical scream tore at her throat.  _I-I didn't mean for this to happen! I just wanted to keep you safe. I-I…I can't._

It was then, at the peak of her panic, that Lucy felt her mind disconnect from reality. The panic, the fear, the heat all seemed to fade away as Lucy's consciousness fell deeper and deeper into the darkness of her mind. She knew exactly what was happening, but it was completely out of her hands at this point.

Sure enough, Lucy could hear "It's" voice reverberate through her head, her own voice but somehow still feeling different, as the darkness slowly began to invade her vision.

_"Warning, primary consciousness stress levels have reached critical mass. Defense protocols engaged. Primary consciousness to be placed in magic induced sleep until external stimulus has ceased. Secondary defense protocol engaged. Seizing control of physical manifestation."_

As Lucy's mind continued to sink into the inky blackness that made up her subconscious, her last thoughts turned to her two friends nearby.

_Natsu, Happy, please…stay safe._

* * *

Natsu stopped the moment Lucy's screaming stopped, unsure as to what was happening. The strange fire clad creature had disappeared but the flames he conjured remained behind, filling the room with a strange, otherworldly glow.

Lucy's hands fell from her head and slowly stood up, her mouth closing but her head remaining hung as she did so.

Natsu could feel Happy grab his pant leg, his paws shaking. "Lushi…?" He questioned quietly, his nervousness clear in his tone.

Lucy's head slowly rose, and Natsu inadvertently took a step back as she did so. The fear and panic that he had expected to see were gone from her face. Instead her eyes didn't seem to focus on anything in particular and seemed almost…dead, like she was sleepwalking.

"Connection to limbs and first origin confirmed." Lucy slowly stated in a monotone, sounding almost tired but not quite the same. "Primary magic check…error. Seal detected upon primary magic. Secondary magic check…error, magic seal detected upon Subject One's physical manifestation." Lucy continued as her eyes slowly moved to stare at the bandage that covered the magic seal on her wrist. "Lord Ifrit fire magic confirmed to be in use…solution for seal determined: using fire magic to burn away seal...execute."

Natsu watched in horror as the flames around Lucy leapt at her words, covering the bandage in fire and filling the room with the horrible stench of burring flesh. "Luce! What the hell are you doing?" Natsu yelled as he leapt forward, intending to eat the flames away from her arm. But before he could get close enough Lucy's body exploded in magical energy, sending Natsu skidding backwards and Happy flying through the air.

"Magical seal removal confirmed. Activating weave to repair physical damage." Lucy continued in the same monotone voice, apparently oblivious to her own body burning.

However when the flames retreated Natsu was surprised to see that the flesh underneath was perfectly fine and that the seal that had been carved into her arm was gone. It was then that Lucy finally looked at Natsu, her gaze remaining unfocused but Natsu could still tell she was looking at him.

"Warning: mage detected within close proximity to Subject one. Determining threat level…threat level determined." Lucy continued as she turned to Natsu. "Magical levels…high, physical strength…high, threat level: high." Lucy's eyes then turned to Happy, causing the cat to flinch under her cold gaze, and then turned to Gajeel. "Secondary mages detected…magical levels…minimal, physical strength…minimal, threat level…minimal. Calculating…complete. Neutralize high threat level target confirmed."

"Oy! Luce, what the hell are you talking about?" Natsu asked as he took a step forward but could only manage one when a massive fireball struck him head on.

Being pushed backwards, Natsu was forced to suck up the fire magic before staring at Lucy again in shock. The blonde girl had her arm held out casually but the palm of her hand was still smoking from where the fire had gathered and fired off at him. "Luce! What was that for?"

"Warning…target has absorbed fire magic. Alternate attack pattern…confirmed. Switching to physical combat."

Natsu was about to yell at Lucy again, trying to get her to wake up from whatever was going on, but stopped when Lucy disappeared from sight. "Wha…?" He muttered unintelligently taking a step forward but was stopped when something struck him in the chin with enough force to lift his body from the ground. Natsu stared down in shock to see that in a split second Lucy had gotten right up in front of him, placed her hands on the ground, and kicked him under his chin in a single fluid motion. Flying upwards, Natsu could barely make out a flash of blonde as Lucy pushed off of the ground and with just the strength of her arms and somehow was above Natsu. He barely had time to register what was happening when Lucy's foot fell on him, canceling his upward momentum and sending him crashing back down onto the floor with a crack that Natsu hoped was only the metal beneath him.

"Natsu! Look out!" Happy warned, focusing Natsu mind instantly allowing him to roll away from the elbow drop that Lucy had aimed right for his neck. Natsu rolled a good distance away before leaping back to his feet, Happy fling right alongside him. "Natsu, what's going on? What happened to Lucy?" The blue cat asked in a panic as Lucy slowly stood back up, her gaze still unfocused but her head was still turned in their direction.

" I don't know little buddy, it must have been something those Phantom bastards did." Natsu replied as he warily watched his partner. He would have questioned the iron bastard but he was still lying in a heap off to the side, unmoving but still breathing. "Did she say anything to you before this started?" Natsu asked, desperately grasping at straws.

Apparently he had grasped one, as recognition flashed across Happy's face followed shortly by fear and dread. "S-she did…she said that in order to stop her…you had to kill her."

"What?!" Natsu shouted as he turned to stare wide eyed at Happy, completely forgetting about Lucy for a second. A second that Lucy was quick to take advantage of.

Once again Natsu felt Lucy's foot impact with his skull, causing the world to spin and his ears to ring.

"Damn it Luce, stop that! I don't want to hurt you!" Natsu yelled out as he tried to grab her but Lucy ducked underneath his arms and swept Natsu's legs out from underneath him; causing Natsu to fall right into the elbow Lucy had waiting for him.

Natsu was sent tumbling away, the pain in his chest making it hard to breathe, and was unfortunately sent right into the hole he had opened up only minutes ago

"Natsu!" Happy cried out, flying down into the hole after his partner.

Lucy slowly walked up to the hole, her face remaining passive as she stared down into the darkness below. "Unable to detect mages presence…mage confirmed to have fled." She declared, dropping her combat stance. "Determining course of action…warning: Ring of Solomon confirmed in close proximity. Returning to ring holder for further orders." And with that Lucy turned and strolled out of the room, the flames surrounding her like a cloak as she did so. Leaving the room completely silent.

Natsu stared up at the spot Lucy had been standing with a look of confusion on his face. For some reason Lucy had just abandoned the fight and just walked off, despite the fact that Natsu was only a few feet below her. Natsu had tried to leap back up, intending to figure out what was wrong with his partner, but for some reason his legs remained stuck to the ground.

"What the hell's going on?" Natsu growled as he looked down at his feet to see that his own shadow was somehow latching onto his legs and keeping him from moving.

"Please do not try to move, Master Dragneel. My master has asked me to keep you here until the threat has passed." A new monotone voice said from behind Natsu.

A man was standing there with his entire body covered in black clothes, his face was hidden behind the same black cloth and only his red eyes were visible. Natsu could see a red sash around his chest that was covered in throwing knives and a short sword on his back.

"Cool! A ninja!" Happy cried out from Natsu's side where he was stuck as well.

"Indeed I am, I am a spirit of darkness in the service of Miss Lucy. You may refer to me as Anzu Master Dragneel." The spirit introduced himself with a bow.

"That's cool and all but you can let us go now, I've got to go after Lucy." Natsu growled, trying to remain somewhat friendly because it was Lucy's spirit but he was in no mood for introductions.

"I'm afraid I cannot obey that order, Master Dragneel. My mistress ordered me to hide you until the battle was over if you appeared incapable of ending her. And from what I observed you are indeed incapable of doing so."

Natsu bristled at the spirits blunt words, but when he opened his mouth to argue he paused. Happy had said that Lucy asked him to kill her, meaning that she had known this was going to happen to her. She was betting on Natsu being able to do as she asked.

But Natsu couldn't do it. He could never hurt Lucy to the point of death. Even in their skirmish mere moments ago he hadn't been trying to land a single hit on her despite the fact that she was practically trying to kill him. He just…couldn't do it.

Anzu seemed to realize this as well. "Remain here Master Dragneel. Trust in the others of your guild to wake my master from her nightmare."

Natsu didn't reply as he clenched his hands before looking up to where Lucy had been standing. "Damn it Luce, you'd better not bite the bullet here or I'm bringing you back just to yell at you."

* * *

Erza panted heavily as she pointed her blade at Jose. The wizard saint had shown up out of nowhere while Erza was speaking with Gray, Mira, and Elfman and had attacked them. With the exception of Erza the other three were knocked out in the first attack and Erza had just barely been hanging on.

And now the master of Phantom was going on and on about how his guild was better than Fairy Tail, was this man truly that insane?

"You started this petty war just to prove to the world that your guild is superior?" Erza questioned angrily, her sword shaking slightly as she tried to keep her anger in check.

"Oh no my dear you have it wrong, while I have always despised your pathetic guild that was not the reason I attacked you. We have come here to claim Subject One for ourselves."

"What are you talking about? Were you not after Lucy?" Erza said after attempting to attack the man in vain.

The wizard saint opened his mouth to answer but the sound of someone slowly walking down the hallway in their direction drew both mages attention. Erza could see the outline of a woman approaching, her body cloaked in flames obscuring her form.

"Ah speak of the devil. It appears Subject One has awoken much earlier than even I anticipated." Erza heard Jose comment with an arrogant chuckle before gesturing down the hall. "Well then Titania, allow me to introduce you to the most powerful mage ever created by the Heartfilia institute, Subject One, otherwise known as Lucy."

Erza watched in growing horror as Lucy casually strolled into the camber, her body clad in flames that swirled around her body like pieces of silk worn by high class women than an element of nature.

"Lucy! What-." Erza started before noticing something even more strange than Lucy's new found firepower.

Lucy didn't even acknowledge Erza's presence, her eyes staring off into space with an empty look to them. Instead, her head turned to stare at Jose with the same blank look.

"Ring of Solomon confirmed, awaiting further orders." Lucy murmured in a cold, lifeless tone, a tone that sent a shiver down Erza's spine.

"You bastard! What did you do to Lucy?" Erza screamed as she tried to rush the wizard saint, but the Jose simply held out his hand and two twirling masses of dark magic twisted around Erza trapping her.

"I don't approve of baseless accusations Titania. I have done nothing to this weapon…although that's soon to change." Jose returned as he sent a shock of magic through the bindings, causing Erza to scream out in pain. Despite that, Lucy didn't react at all, her eyes still continuing to stare off into the distance.

Jose turned to stare at Erza with an arrogant grin on his face. "Now that what I have the object of my desire in my possession, I think it's a good time to test the limits of my new weapon." Jose then gestured to a wall, his magic causing it to explode outward to reveal a view of Magnolia's coastline along with the guild and its members desperately trying to hold off the shades. "Originally I intended to destroy you pathetic guild with my shades. But now that Subject One is here I have an even better idea." And with that Jose held up his fist, the ring on his hand glowing slightly with magical energy. "Subject One, destroy the Fairy Tail guild hall."

Lucy reacted instantly, her head jerking to stare at the guild hall. "Command confirmed…oh mighty lord of flame, oh indomitable spirit of chaos, I beseech thee; manifest thy power for this unworthy priestess…come forth flames of Ifrit, and burn away that which stands against me… **Realm of Fire**." Lucy chanted as she held out her palm an impossibly complex magic circle hovering right in front of her hand.

A magic circle that looked identical to the massive one that had appeared directly over the guild hall.

"Stop Lucy! I don't know what hold this man has over you, but don't allow him to manipulate you into destroying your home!" Erza screamed out, trying desperately to get through to her younger companion.

Erza didn't see any change in Lucy's facial expression, but she could see the younger mages arm begin to shake.

"Oh? Even with its primary consciousness repressed it still resists? How very interesting…but even still I cannot allow such disobedience." Jose coldly declared as he held up his hand, the ring on one of his fingers sparking with blue electricity. "Subject One, obey!"

Erza could see Lucy's body jerk as the electricity jolted across the room and struck her, but her face remained the same despite the pain she was clearly in."C…confirmed…target…identified...Executing" And with that the magical circle in her hand exploded in power.

Erza watched in horror as the magical circle above the guild began to glow red; the guild shaking slightly as magic power began to suffuse the air around and above it. Erza could hear the screams of her compatriots, Cana one of the loudest, trying to figure out a way to stop what was happening but Erza could tell simply from the quantity of magical energy that there was no way to stop what was coming.

And then the air below the magic circle exploded into flames, consuming the guild completely in hungry fire. Despite the sorrow that now gripped her heart, Erza was at least thankful that the flames only seemed to remain directly under the magic circle, leaving the others and those who had been evacuated from the infirmary free from the relentless fire.

"Ha ha ha ha…your pathetic guild sure went up fast, but can't say I'm surprised that such a pile of kindling went up so quickly." Jose laughed before turning to Erza, his face beyond smug. "But with your guild gone its time for you to follow dear Titania, along with the rest of your pathetic compatriots. Subject One…eliminate this mage."

As Lucy turned to point her palm at Erza, the red headed woman saw tears running down her still unexpressive face. "…confirmed." And the air around Erza began to grow far hotter than what was normal.

 _No…I will not allow Lucy to bare this burden._  Erza denied as she used her magic to manipulate her sword and positioned it right behind her back.  _I leave the rest to you Natsu…_  and with that she sent the blade flying towards her back.

However, neither her own blade nor Lucy's fire struck down Erza. Instead a magic of pure light and immense power suffused the room. However the magic was neither oppressive like Jose's or cold and knife like as Lucy's now was. Instead it felt almost warm and comforting, like a friendly hand on Erza's shoulder.

The black magic that bound Erza slowly dissipated under the warm magic and the magic circle at Lucy's fingertips faded away. As Erza was slowly lowered to the floor she could see a warlike smirk on Jose's mouth, and turning around she could see why.

Slowly descending with his arms crossed and fury on his face was Master Makarov.

"You have shed the blood and tears of my children…and that is unforgivable. They have been made to suffer because of the incompetence of their parents; we are both to blame Jose. Let's end this here and now." Makarov solemnly challenged as he landed on a pile of rubble.

Jose closed his eyes for a moment raising a hand charged with magical energy. Then his eyes shot open to reveal that his eyes had turned black with magical energy. "You wish to cause a catastrophe?"

Makarov scowled as light gathered at his fingertip. "In order to protect my guild I will gladly take that risk."

"Gramps!" Erza heard Gray yell from behind her, causing her to turn around and see that the others had woken up, likely awakened by the Master's power.

"You kids need to get out of here!" Makarov shouted as he threw up magical barriers to block Jose's oncoming attacks.

"We'll stay with you! We can still fight!" Elfman shouted out as they were buffeted by the wind created by the two opposing magics.

Erza heard Mira shout in surprise as the white haired woman took a step forward. "Lucy? What are you doing over there?" she asked as she took another step forward before being stopped by Erza.

"It's useless Mira, Jose did something to her and she can no longer here us." Erza said through clenched teeth, her point only proven when Lucy didn't react to her name being called in the slightest nor the two titanic magics clashing.

"Then let's get her back." Gray replied as if it was a matter of fact but the look in his eyes clearly revealing his fury at Lucy being manipulated.

"No, we will leave this to the Master. If we stay here we will only get in his way." Erza refuted with a shake of her head.

"But Erza-." Gray started but swallowed his own words when he saw Erza's hold body shaking with what he could only assume was repressed rage. Gray knew that she wanted nothing more than to go to Lucy's side, but with two Wizard Saints fighting nearby it would be almost impossible to wake her up and get her out of there without getting caught in the crossfire. "Hey Gramps! You and Lucy better make sure to come back!" Gray shouted before turning around and following after Elfman and Mira.

Erza took one last look at the two dueling masters and her comatose comrade. She wanted nothing more than to stay and aid her Master to make up for failing him during the raid, but she knew that she needed to make sure that the others were clear of the now destroyed guild halls. The collateral damage from this battle could very well affect everything in their surroundings. So all she could do was keep the others from doing anything stupid.

"Be safe you two…" She mumbled under her breath as she fled from the ensuing chaos.

* * *

Makarov scowled as he glared down at Jose. He had been fighting on par with his fellow Wizard Saint, the two trading blow for blow, but they had stopped to glare at each other for a moment, creating a lull in the battle.

And it was during this lull that Makarov took the time to cast a concerned gaze at Lucy. The child hadn't moved since Makarov had made his appearance and despite having taken more than a few hits of magical blasts herself her and her eyes had the unmistakable look of someone under mental control.  _Lucy…what has this fool done to you?_

His thoughts were interrupted when another blast of black magic struck his barriers. "To think that you would be so arrogant to ignore me Makarov, I didn't think I could despise you anymore than I did before."

"Silence." Makarov shot back, in no mood to banter with the arrogant fool. "Answer me Jose, what have you done to Lucy?"

The master of Phantom Lord laughed at that, a laugh that sounded a little too unstable for Makarov's taste. "I have done nothing but reveal her true form to the world. The form born of the Heartfilia's blood and sweat." Jose scowled then turning to stare at Lucy's unmoving form. "But I will admit that seeing her hold back in her magic annoys me." But in the next second he began to laugh once again. "I just had quite the epiphany if I do say so myself…rather than a battle between tow wizard saints, would it not be more enjoyable for us both if you were to fight against one of your own children?"

"You would not dare!" Makarov shouted as he shot a blast of light magic at the man, who promptly moved out of the way.

"Oh I would indeed…Subject One! Reveal your true magic and destroy this mage!"

But both mages were surprised when Lucy didn't even twitch. "Error…unable to comply, original magic has been sealed and cannot be accessed. Please reissue orders."

Makarov could see the fury on his counterparts face at her refusal. "You…you would dare! You, a simple tool would refuse the orders of a Wizard Saint?" Makarov watched as Jose held up his hand, a ring on his finger crackling with pure ethernano. "You will obey your orders or you will suffer!" and after finishing the blue magic arced across the room to strike Lucy, causing the blondes body to twitch in pain despite the fact that it wasn't reflected on her face.

"E-error…u-unable…to…c-c…compl…" Lucy stuttered out, her tone still neutral but broken as pain wracked her body.

"Stop this!" Makarov yelled out, preparing to unleash one of his most powerful spells but was stopped when he heard Lucy's next words.

"…confirmed, forcing magic through seal." She quietly declared, her tone almost sounding sad for the first time. But before Makarov could think on it Lucy screamed in pain, her body convulsing over and her hands clawing at her Chest.

Makarov was about to make his way over to her, despite Jose's interference, but before he could take a single step the horrifying sound of flesh tearing open reached his ears. He watched as both Lucy's boots and gloves seemed to explode outward along with a spray of blood to reveal twisted clawed hands and talons in their places. The scales were pitch black for the most part but had strange red swirl like patters across them, almost as if the claws were painted in the blood of her foes.

But what truly captured Makarov's attention was what appeared on Lucy's head and back. The sounds of flesh tearing only grew louder as two black twisted horns sprouted from her head, the horns arching backward almost appearing to be a crown of ebony steel rather than parts of a living creature. From her back a pair of immense black wings accompanied by an equally as imposing tail revealed themselves, covered in the same crimson swirls that adorned her claws and talons.

Lucy continued to cry in pain as she fell down onto a knee, but the cries were slowly sounding less like a girl in pain and more like a furious beast, wounded and cornered. Her breaths coming in short ragged gasps.

"Now that is what I would expect from the greatest achievement of the Heartfilias." Jose laughed before slowly pointing at Makarov. "Now then…Subject One…hunt."

Lucy's head shot back up to stare at Makarov, or Makarov could only assume she was staring at him as Lucy's pupils had disappeared entirely and her eyes had turned blood red.

They were no longer the eyes of a human; they were the eyes of a beast.

Lucy rose from her knee but didn't stand fully back up. Instead she crouched on all fours and arched her back just as a cat would do moments before pouncing.

And pounce Lucy did, one moment she was crouching across the room form Makarov, the next she was only a few feet away, her right claw held over her head like the executioners blade coming down on a sinners neck.

Makarov was prepared however, and had a barrier in place even before she had closed the distance.  _I cannot do anything for Lucy while she is like this. I will simply have to focus my efforts on defeating her controller, Jose._ Makarov decided, choosing to ignore the questions he had about his newest Childs peculiar transformation and pain and instead turning to Jose and preparing his most powerful spell.

However his concentration was broken when he felt his magical barriers beginning to give way. Whipping his head back around, Makarov was shocked to see that Lucy's claws were slowly beginning to tear through his barrier and with a final bestial roar ripped the barrier in two.

Makarov was forced to leap backwards as Lucy's tail lashed through the air in a similar manner to a scorpion, striking the stone he had been standing on moments before and crushing it under the force of the blow.

The two mages continued to jump around the room, Makarov throwing up barriers or enlarging his fist to smack Lucy away, while Lucy would rip through the barriers and lash out at speeds comparable to Erza's flight armor as Lucy was actually able to use the wings that had sprouted from her back.  _I cannot keep this up for much longer._ Makarov grimly decided as he dodged another swipe. He knew that at her speeds and her strange ability to rip through his magic she would eventually land a blow, and judging from the shape and sharpness of her claws he wouldn't fare very well the moment he did.

"Sorry about this Lucy, but you'll still fare better than Natsu normally does when he goes on a rampage… **Three Pillar Gods!"**  He shouted as he swiped his hand through the air, three stone pillars rising from the ground around Lucy. As someone who had mastered the spell, Makarov was aware that rather than being a simple defense spell, the three pillars actually separated the space that they surrounded thus preventing most magics from effecting what was inside.

And that also meant that whatever was inside couldn't affect the outside, including a very pissed off transformed mage.

Lucy screamed in rage as she clawed the barrier now surrounding her, her claws sparking as they bounced off of the much stronger magic.

"That was cruel of you, to trap one of your precious children." Jose taunted as darkness began to gather in his palms in response to his magic.

However Makarov did not rise to the bait, instead he placed the palms of his hands inches away from each other, a golden light gathering in response to his will. "You have harmed my children and forced one of them to fight against their siblings…your sins are many Jose. I shall give you to the count of three before I send you to oblivion."

"Are you sure that's wise? Your precious little child there is sure to take advantage of your patience."

Makarov was about to question what the man meant before noticed that the air around them seemed to be thinning, almost as if someone was draining the very magic from the space around them. Turning around, Makarov could see that Lucy had arched her head back and appeared to be taking an incredibly deep breath, a blue glow gathering in the back of her throat as the ehternano in the air was sucked into her gullet.

Makarov could only blink in surprise, over the years of disciplining Natsu he had seen many slayer techniques, and what Lucy was now preforming was something he was all too familiar with.

She was preparing a breath attack, and at the rate she was gathering magic her attack would be prepared long before Makarov could complete Fairy Law.

* * *

When Lucy opened her eyes it was to the sight of complete darkness and a screeching pain in her head, a pain she instantly recognized as the feedback of opening multiple elemental gates at the same time.

"I…what was I doing?" She murmured as she struggled to think. She could feel "It's" presence at the forefront of her mind, its concern for her mental well being evident by the fact that it was trying to force her back asleep. But for some reason Lucy knew she couldn't do that, but at the same time she couldn't remember why she needed to wake up.

It was while she was trying to figure out what was happening that the darkness was parted by a bright light, causing Lucy to cry out in surprise and shield her eyes. But the light wasn't blinding as Lucy had expected, instead it felt warm and almost comforting.

As her eyes adjusted to the light, Lucy could see the Master standing on a pile of rubble before her, an immense amount of magic gathering in his hands, just as she realized that a large amount of magic was also gathering in her own throat at the same moment.

"This is…" Lucy started before it all came rushing back to her. The fighting against Phantom, Jose knowing about her origins, and the fact that she had likely lost control when surrounded by flames forcing "It" to take control of her body in her stead. "I see, he somehow managed to force the seal open."

Lucy almost succumbed to the sorrow of failing in her promise to her mom for a brief second before realizing she had something else to be worried about. She could tell just from observing that her body's attack would be ready before the Master could finish his, and with the residual magic of two wizard saints in the area now being sucked into Lucy's attack she wasn't sure he could survive the attack despite his power.

Lucy thought as quickly as she could, trying to figure out a way to help her current Master. She could not seize control of her body, "It's" defense protocols were already in effect and it wouldn't relinquish control until the situation was under control. Lucy could take control for a brief second, but that wouldn't amount to much in the grand scheme of things.

"So what do I…" Lucy thought out loud before trailing off, the realization of what she had to do dawning on her. "It" would always prioritize her own safety over orders, even if those orders came from someone who held a ring.

So if she suffered a catastrophic injury then her body would be forced to engage the weave in order to keep her functioning.

Despite understanding, Lucy couldn't help but hesitate. She knew Natsu and the others would be furious with her if she did what she was intending to do, but what choice did she have? She could allow herself to endanger anymore of Fairy Tail then she already had, and it wasn't like she didn't deserve to suffer for what she had already done.

Steeling herself, Lucy forced her way to the forefront of her mind, preparing herself for the pain to come.

* * *

As Makarov continued to gather the light in his palms a curious thing happened. Lucy, who had been gathering magic at an alarming rate, suddenly began shaking uncontrollably, her tail being the most noticeable as it swished back and forth. Lucy's head slowly lowered until Makarov could see her eyes, and what he saw surprised him.

Lucy's eyes, despite still being blood red, had regained some sense of normality as her pupils had returned. And her eyes now held a deep sorrow as she stared at him.

"M…Master…I'm…sor…ry." She managed to say, but before Makarov could question her tail lashed out.

But its target was not Makarov or even Jose. Instead the tail doubled back on itself and struck down mercilessly on Lucy's own back, sending a spray of blood flying through the air.

The entire room seemed to freeze as Lucy's body shook from the force of the blow, her pupils once again disappearing into the red of her eyes as and the magic faded from her throat, her mouth open in a silent scream.

"Lucy!" Makarov shouted in a panic, almost losing control of his magic, but Lucy didn't respond as her body fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. Makarov could see that the wound was horrible based simply off of how much blood he could see, and from the angle and positioning of the cut it was entirely possible she had specifically struck herself in order to sever her own spine, thus ending the threat she posed.

His fury growing to titanic proportions, Makarov turned back to see Jose staring at Lucy's crumpled form in surprise. "JOSE!" He shouted as the magic began to take form.

"No! I refuse to lose to you fairies! Phantom Lord is the strongest of all!" He shouted as he shot his magic out.

But he was far too late; Makarov finished his count only a second later and clapped his hands together, the light spilling out and multiplying.

"…I invoke… **Fairy Law.** " He declared solemnly as the light suffused everything in his surroundings, breaking apart Jose's magic and washing through the entirety of Phantom Lord.

When the light faded Makarov glared down at Jose, whose body was shacking and whose eyes looked like he had encountered death itself. "Make no mistake; if I ever see you around Lucy or Fairy Tail again I shall finish what I started here." Makarov turned then, slowly making his way over to his fallen child. "I suspect the Council will want to talk to the two of us about what happened here today so I suggest you get your story in order." Jose didn't reply in words, but Makarov was certain that he had heard by the strange noises that were coming from him.

Walking over, Makarov couldn't help but grimace at the condition of Lucy. At some point the horns wings and tail along with the scales on her arms and legs had vanished, leaving the skin torn and bleeding in the places they had once been. But by far the worst of her wounds was the one on her back. The cut went directly across the small of her back and looked far too deep for Makarov to be comfortable with. But he couldn't confirm the severity of the wound until he brought Lucy to the hospital.

"Natsu won't be happy about this." Makarov sighed as he increased his size to the point where he could carry the wounded blonde in comfort and noticing that none of the childs wounds were bleeding as bad as they should be. "I'm not looking forward to paying for the damages as he works his anger off." He continued, trying to lighten his mood but failing as his gaze once again fell on the enigma that was Lucy.  _One thing's for sure, I have quite a few questions for her once she wakes up._


	11. Solomon's Child

"I've gotten far too old for this." Makarov moaned as he ran a hand down his face. It had been a little under a week since the events of the Phantom Lord war and things were only just starting to get back to normal. The Magic council had shown up within an hour after Makarov finished off Jose and had been interviewing everyone involved ever since. Makarov had actually been surprised at the speed of their response, as the Magic Council was never one to act with such speed unless it directly threatened the council themselves.

Makarov watched the clouds lazily drift across the sky from his perch on the side of the magic council branch building. The council had at long last called him in to testify on what had happened during the war. The Wizard Saint explained the fight as best he could, as he had been unconscious for most of it,and to his surprise he was dismissed quite quickly from the trial as they were prepared to render their verdict.

"So this is where you went Macky." Makarov heard the voice of one of his oldest friends, Yajima, call out as the magic council member took a seat right beside him. "I've come to inform you of the council's decision."

Makarov couldn't help but gulp in nervousness, Fairy Tail was always on thin ice with the magic council and with this most recent fight they had broken at least ten clauses of the guild charters. It wouldn't be shocking if every member of the guild was banned from the magical world for the rest of their lives.

Yajima paused for a second before continuing, whether he was gathering his thoughts or building the suspense Makarov couldn't tell as both were equally as likely. "Jose Porla will be stripped of his titles and will be brought before the court to answer for his crimes…As for Fairy Tail…consider this a warning against future acts."

Makarov's head shot around to stare at his friend in shock. "Truly? I mean, I expected Jose to lose his titles, but you won't be punishing us? Won't that cause more problems for the council if we get away without punishment?"

Yajima remained silent for another second before turning to Makarov, his face more serious than normal. "Let's just say…that one of your members has quite some pull with the Magic council, and that by punishing you we will be earning their ire."

The two sat in silence for a moment, each dueling with their own thoughts, but after a few seconds Makarov worked up the courage to ask the question that had been at the back of his mind since the end of the battle. "Is it because of Subject One?"

Makarov could see Yajima tense slightly for a second before sighing in defeat. "I see…so Jose couldn't keep his mouth shut about that huh?" Makarov's old friend looked at him with an almost angry look, but what he was angry at Makarov couldn't tell. "Are you sure you want to know? What that child's suffered through would be more than enough to break most people. Are you certain that you want to know her truths?"

Makarov remained silent for a second as he thought back to Lucy. The poor girl had yet to regain consciousness after the events of the battle. She had been admitted to the Magnolia hospital for treatment but her doctor had not been hopeful, saying that with such a deep cut on her back she would be lucky to survive and at best would never walk again.

Makarvo's kids had been devastated at that news, particularly Natsu, whom Makarov had to throw into the nearby ocean in order to keep him from burning down even more of the city, and Levy, who after waking up with the rest of team Shadow Gear had collapsed into tears at hearing the state of her friend.

And that was only the extent of what Makarov had been willing to share with the members of Fairy Tail. Lucy's doctor had informed him in private, as Lucy had never revealed her last name or any known family making Makarov her technical caretaker, that Lucy's bones had undergone numerous fractures over the years possibly marking her as someone who had lived through domestic abuse. And that wasn't even the worst of it. The doctor had gone on to explain that Lucy's chest and back were covered in old incision scars, meaning that someone had taken a scalpel to her skin long ago and often enough to leave evidence. And to top it all off there was the dragon shaped scar that was carved unto her chest.

Makarov closed his eyes as he thought about how much she must have suffered in her life to have a body as torn up and damaged as that. Could such a person even return to living a normal life? Could she ever truly be happy after suffering as she had?

But this wasn't the time or place to have philosophical thoughts, one of his children had suffered far too much, and he couldn't call himself a parent if he didn't try to comfort her when he could.

Opening his eyes, Makarov met Yajima's own gaze. "If I abandon her to her fate then I have no right to lead a guild, no matter the darkness she carries."

Yajima regarded his old friend for a moment before smiling slightly, proud that his old friend was willing to stand up for the child, before continuing. "Well…I cannot reveal too much myself, as Lucy was the one who lived through it, but I can tell you that Miss Lucy is a black mark on the history of the Magic council. A mark that we can both neither ignore nor acknowledge for so long as she is amongst the living." Yajima paused for a moment to stare up at the clouds with a forlorn look on his face. "Due to our negligence Miss Lucy, along with many others, suffered for far too long at the hands of one of our own, and for that we will never be able to forgive ourselves."

Makarov crossed his arms as he took in the information. "So what exactly happened to her? And that magic of hers…"

But Yajima simply shook his head as he stood up. "Like I said, it is Miss Lucy's tale to tell. I'm certain that with everything that's happened she'll be more than willing to speak to you and your children about it. But know that so long as she remains as member of your guild the Magic council cannot take drastic action against you out of fear of angering her. Our debt to her is simply that great."

"Very well then, but how is she supposed to talk to us about this if she isn't even conscious?"

Yajima simply chuckled lightly as he started to walk away. "A simple back injury won't be enough to keep Lucy down for long. She'll probably be conscious by the time you get back to Magnolia."

Makarov watched his old friend walk away with a curious look on his face before sighing once again. It looked like things were going to get hectic again, and the old guild master could only pray that Natsu wouldn't end up burning something down when his partner woke up.

* * *

Lucy couldn't help but sigh again as she looked at the door to her hospital room, dreading the fact that her teammates would inevitably storm through it once they learned that she had regained consciousness. It had only been a few hours since she had awoken from her self induced coma and after receiving a quick checkup, her doctors shocked at her speedy recovery, she was certain that they had informed Fairy Tail that she had returned to the land of the living.

But seeing her teammates was one thing that Lucy couldn't help but fear. With everything that had happened she couldn't just pretend that she hadn't lost control over her other side or the fact that the Master had seen her true would want answers, answers that Lucy was terrified of giving.

In all honesty, Lucy wanted nothing more than to simply jump to her feet and flee. But because of the feedback of forcing her seal open in addition to the sheer quantity of wounds she had suffered from she still hadn't recovered from the damage to her spine, leaving her lower body completely unable to move and therefore she was unable to flee.

 _What should I do?...Natsu is going to be furious if I tell him the truth. But…I can't just lie after everything….what do I do…mom._  Lucy panicked internally as she continued to lament the situation.

But at that moment Lucy's fears were realized when the door to her room slammed open, and a blur of blue and a blur of pink shot in.

"Lucy!" Happy cried out as he flung his tiny form into Lucy's chest, knocking the air out of her with a very unladylike "oomph"

Lucy was thankful that Natsu at least managed to keep his hands to himself, as she still wasn't exactly back up to one hundred percent. "About damn time Luce, it's been almost a week since the fighting."

Lucy smiled sadly as she patted Happy on the head, the blue cat still crying into the hospital gown. "I apologize Natsu, I didn't mean to worry you." She replied as she watched Gray, Erza, and Master Makarov walk in through the door, Gray looking relived but Erza and the Master looking grim.

"Welcome back Lucy." Gray said with a chuckle as he patted Lucy on the shoulder, his shirt somehow disappearing somewhere in between the door and Lucy's bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Not as bad as I expected to." Lucy replied, her eyes never leaving Master Makarov

Lucy could hear Natsu making some kind of comment from Lucy's bedside and Erza murmuring about how she needed to be hit for her punishment but Lucy ignored them in favor of bracing herself for Makarov's soon to come questions. She could tell from his gaze that he had been at least informed somewhat by the Magic council at least in part to who she really was, and that questions were soon to follow.

"Lucy my dear." Makarov started, drawing everyone's attention to the small Guild Master. "Answer me truthfully…are you by chance a dragon?"

The tension in the room was so thick at that sentence that even Lucy, oblivious as she was, was conscious of it. Lucy bit the inside of her lip, debating the merits of lying, when Natsu started to laugh almost manically.

"What the hell Gramps, did you hit your head on the way in here? There's no way Luce's a drag-."

"No, but I am a slayer." Lucy finally responded, cutting off Natsu who promptly choked on the rest of his sentence and whipped around so fast that Lucy heard his neck crack. Although she couldn't see his expression as she refused to look at his face. She could feel Happy tense in surprise in her arms, and could hear both Gray and Erza suck in a surprised breath.

"I see." Makarov responded, sounding much more tired than before. "I know this might be hard for you Lucy, but would you please explain yourself to us?

Lucy quickly stole a glance at Natsu, winching at the strange wide eyed look on his face. "…yes I will. Fairy Tail was destroyed and people were hurt because of me. It's only fair that I tell you the reasons that everyone had to suffer." Lucy took a deep breath then, steeling herself, before continuing. "But if it's all the same to you I would prefer to tell all of Fairy Tail at once, my story isn't exactly something I want to repeat multiple times."

"I understand, then let us go to the guild hall first." He said with a nod and began to turn away but stopped when he noticed Lucy not moving. "Is something wrong?"

"Well…it's just that because of the damage I had to inflict to stop myself I had to sever my spine. And as of now I cannot move my lower half so I kind of need someone to carry me to the guild."

Makarov cursed quietly as he battled to keep his emotions in check, becoming angry over the state of one of his children wouldn't help the situation. He glanced at Natsu for a second, debating having him carry Lucy to the guild, but quickly decided against it when he saw the look on the boy's face. He was clearly still trying to keep himself under control after Lucy's revelation and having him carry her back to the guild might be too much for him to handle.

"Erza." Makarov started, causing the red headed woman to blink as she recovered from her shock. "Would you be so kind as to carry Lucy here back to the others while I get her checked out?"

"O-of course Master." She replied after only a brief second of hesitation. Walking over to Lucy's bedside and scooping the nervous blonde into her arms.

The walk to the guild was tense but mercifully quite. Lucy simply keeping her head down and working up the courage to recount her tale. The others were all dueling with their own thoughts as they slowly walked through town. Erza couldn't help but feel slightly vindicated in her suspicions of the young blonde but at the same time she could tell that Lucy had gone through something quite similar to her own past, as the blonde was curling into Erza's chest seeming to trying to make herself as small as possible and was shaking slightly. Seeing her companions distress, Erza decided then and there that she would be there as a shoulder to cry on if Lucy needed it, something she had often wished she had been lucky enough to have during her first years at Fairy Tail.

Gray simply glanced between Lucy and Natsu as they walked. He knew pretty early that Lucy couldn't have had an easy childhood, having an encounter with Deliora pretty much ensured that, but Gray hadn't considered that she could have been a dragon slayer. Of course Gray was concerned for Lucy, even more so after hearing that she couldn't move her legs, but more than anything he was wary of what Natsu was going to do. The pink haired idiot had been quiet so far, but Gray could tell that was just more due to shock than anything else. Once Lucy actually started to tell her tale Natsu would stay so quiet, and if Gray's theory was correct there was a chance that the fool would get violent. So Gray watched his rival, making sure that he wouldn't do anything that he would be sure to regret later.

Happy flew alongside everyone, his face downcast as he watched his friends. He had been just as shocked as everyone else when Lucy admitted easily to being a slayer, and he more than anyone else knew just how floored by the news Natsu had been. But Happy would have thought Natsu would have been happy to meet a friendly dragon slayer for once, as when he was younger Natsu would often talk about Igneel and would complain out loud over not being able to trade stories of dragon parents with anyone. But rather than appearing happy, both Natsu and Lucy looked almost scared. Maybe they just needed some fish?

Natsu couldn't think, he couldn't react. What was he supposed to say to finding out that Lucy was a slayer like he was? Sure, she hadn't exactly been hiding the fact that she was looking for the dragons, and in hindsight her motion sickness on the boat to Galuna made perfect sense, but Natsu hadn't ever even gotten a hint of the scent of dragons from Lucy like he did from Gajeel. And Lucy's magic didn't resemble dragon slaying magic in the slightest. Was she…lying about being a slayer?

Natsu shook his head, of course she wasn't lying, what would she gain by lying about it other than pissing him off? No, Lucy was telling the truth, but not the whole truth, and that was making Natsu angry was the fact that Lucy hadn't once looked him in the face after revealing herself.

But it wasn't the normal angry Natsu go when Gray picked a fight or the rage induced violence that Erza would go into if someone threatened her cake. No, this was some kind of anger Natsu had never felt before, and it was because of this anger that he hadn't done anything yet. But with every step in the direction of the guild he took he could feel the anger growing more and more, and when it reached the breaking point even Natsu wasn't sure what he would do.

The four continued to walk in silence, eventually joined by Master Makarov, and made their way to the site of the new guild hall that was currently under construction. Erza could feel Lucy shudder at the sight of the spot where Fairy Tail had once stood, apparently aware that it was by her hand that the guild had vanished. Erza had inspected the damage after things had quieted down and was surprised by the power of the spell she had used. Whatever magic it was it had completely incinerated everything above ground, leaving only the guilds storage room and basement intact, and the fires had burned so hot that not even ash remained behind. Erza had kept quiet about Lucy being the one who had cast the spell, as she was certain that the poor girl had enough to deal with beyond everyone knowing that she had been the one to destroy their home, but privately she couldn't help but shudder at the sheer power behind that spell.

"Lucy! It's great to see you awake dear." Mira shouted out the moment their group got into the center of the construction, a place where tables and a makeshift bar had been set up in order for things to still operate with some level of normality. "But why are you having Erza carry you?"

"Ah, that's because I can't move my legs myself right now." Lucy replied, causing Mira and some other members nearby to cry out in shock. But before anyone could do anything Lucy waved her hands to get their attention. "Its fine everyone, I'll get better before long."

It was at that point that Makarov cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention. "Listen up brats, Lucy here has something to say to us. So quiet down!"

Lucy nodded in thanks to Master Makarov as Erza placed her down at a table, everyone's attention now on her. Lucy took a deep breath before staring into the crowd. "Everyone, let me first say I'm so sorry that you all had to get involved in the fight over me and ended up losing your home because of it." Lucy apologized as she gestured to the surroundings.

"It's just a building Lu, not something we would be willing to trade a friend for." Levy replied, others voicing their own agreement with the statement.

Lucy allowed a sad smile to pass across her face for a brief second before continuing. "Regardless, everyone here got hurt because of me and my past, so in return I thought that it was only fair that you all knew why Jose wanted me. So if you are willing to listen, I'm willing to tell you all the truth of who I am." Lucy finished and stared down at her lap.

For a brief second Lucy wasn't sure what to do. What if no one cared to listen? Or if they got angry at her? But her fears were alleviated when she felt a warm, slender hand rested on her shoulder. Lucy looked up to see Mira standing over her with an equally as warm smile on her face.

"It's ok Lucy, your part of the Fairy Tail family now. If you want to share your tale with us then will be willing to listen, and we'll be here to comfort you when it's all said and done."

Lucy felt the almost overwhelming need to cry right then and there, but managed to keep herself in check. After all, there would be plenty of time for tears when she started to talk about her mother.

Lucy closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and went back as far as she could remember. "…I never knew who my parents were." She started, her solemn tone instantly subduing the mood of the guild. "I could never find out if I was simply given away, sold, or taken by force. But whoever my birth parents were they have never been a part of my life. My earliest memories were of the cell were I was kept in for most of my life and of the darkness that surrounded me…"

* * *

The child stood directly in the center of the dimly lit cell. Uncaring about the rags that she wore or the chill that permeated the air. After all, how was she supposed to care about things that had always been a constant in her life?

The child was only around six, a number she understood only because of the magic that had been used on her mind in order to give her the same level of intelligence as any of the adults that walked the halls of the institute. The child understood she was strange by her very nature, as normally a child learned from someone who cared for the child and who held blood relations with it, something known as a parent. However, despite knowing this, the child did not understand how exactly a being known as a parent accomplished this, as only information had been woven into her mind, not the emotional connections that accompanied most learning were simply lost to her.

The child had once asked one of the adults what a parent was, but the adult simply shook their head in response. "You have no parents Subject One, you are only our subject and therefore removed from such trivial things." They had said, and Subject One abandoned that line of questioning as the adults tended to get angry if she questioned too much.

For most of Subject One's life she had held similar conversations with the adults of the facility, questioning them about the information she had been burdened with but most of the time the adults simply told her that such questions were unnecessary for her.

The only exception being when she questioned combat or magic related topics, those were covered in great detail.

From the first moments of being able to walk and talk Subject One had been physically trained in a way that the knowledge she had been given would define as "brutal". But for her it was simply combat training, nothing more, nothing less.

She didn't feel any anger when the adult males slammed her face into the ground, shattering her nose. Nor did she feel any happiness when she would break their arms. Neither of those things were allowed by the adults. Even pain, something her knowledge told her was part of living, was something that she wasn't allowed to feel as the weave saw to that.

After all, what use did a weapon have for things such as feelings?

Subject One continued to wait in the center of her cell for an adult to show themselves. There were only two times a day that Subject One would see others, when it was time to be fed, or when someone showed up for either her physical training or time for more of the weave to be woven into her body. If it wasn't one of those two times Subject One would simply stand in the center of her cell waiting or, if her body required sleep, would retreat to a corner of the cell and rest for awhile.

But now was not the time for rest, as Subject One could hear the sounds of someone moving slowly down the hall. A few minutes later a skinny man appeared outside Subject one's cell, his skin as pale as her own and his limbs lanky, marking him as one of the researcher rather an a combatant.

The man silently unlocked Subject one's cell door and simply turned and began walking back down the hallway, Subject One right on his heels. Neither spoke as they made their way through the cold stone halls, the man uncaring about his research sample and Subject One unaware of what small talk was or any subject that would interest the man.

Eventually the man lead the child to one of the experimentation rooms and opened the door again for her, Subject One walking inside to the sound of the door locking behind her. Inside she was greeted with the same sight she expected, one of the head scientists in the facility, a man whose dark skin was a strange contradiction to his white hair and white coat.

"Ah, Subject One, just on time." The man greeted coldly as he stared at the child like a bug under a magnifying glass, a stare the child returned with indifference. "Today we shall be placing the weave under your right arm. Sit down on the table and prepare yourself."

"…orders confirmed." The child replied quietly in the way she was taught to. The child slowly climbed up onto the table and simply stared up into the florescent light above her.

The man moved to stand to her right, a cruel smile on his face and his hands glowing in black magic. "Cut off the pain receptors in your right arm, I don't want a repeat of the first time."

"…confirmed." The child replied as the man lowered his hands onto her own right arm. And while she could no longer feel it, the child understood that the pain in her arm was coming from her arm being torn apart and being reconstructed bit by bit.

* * *

"Lucy honey…was your name really Subject One back in your childhood?" Mira asked, her tone sounding like it was about to cry.

"mmm, I wasn't considered a person by the researchers of the facility. So instead of a name, they simply referred to us by our subject number." Lucy smiled sadly then as she placed a hand over her chest. "I was the first experimental subject held in that facility, thus the designation I was given was Subject One."

"Oh Lucy…" Mira half cried as she once again placed a comforting hand on Lucy's shoulder. Lucy for her part was confused as to why the older woman was getting so emotional over a name but was thankful for the contact nonetheless.

"Lucy." Makarov interrupted the moment with his face mixture of both fury and horror at the tale Lucy was recounting. "What exactly is this weave you keep mentioning? The council mentioned it a few times and councilman Yajima claimed that it was the reason you were able to regain consciousness so quickly."

Lucy opened her mouth to answer but no words came out. The weave was incredibly complex and if she discussed it in full it would take far too long. As she contemplated her options Lucy looked down at the table and noticed something that would make her explanation much easier.

"It would be simpler to just show you." Lucy remarked and before anyone could move plucked a knife from the table in front of her and stabbed it into her shoulder.

"Lucy! What are you doing?!" Mira screamed out as Lucy withdrew the blade from her shoulder, her face remaining impassive despite the blood now trailing down her arm.

"It's alright Mira, just give it a second." Lucy replied normally, the pain she would have normally experienced cut off before the metal had even come into contact with her skin.

Mira was about ready to ignore the younger girl and treat her self inflicted wound but before she could she noticed something that caused her eyes to widen and her mouth to fall open in shock.

Black lines were slowly becoming visible underneath Lucy's skin. The lines were completely straight under the skin, traveling up her shoulder in perfect ninety degree angel turns ,clearly marking them as something unnatural as nothing in the human body should look so precise. The lines slowly moved up the length of Lucy's arm until they reached the shoulder and stopped just short of coming into contact with the wound.

Then, to everyone's shock, the blood coming from the wound stopped entirely and the opening in the skin began to close, almost like an eye slowly shutting. And a few seconds more there was no sign of any wound besides for the blood that was beginning to dry on her arm.

"This is the weave." Lucy explained as she gestured to her arm. "A magical technique that weaves a spell directly into an object for a variety of purposes. Normally it is used simply to create magic items but the one in me is…different." She continued with a humorless chuckle. "It's the same concept as self repairing items. The moment my body detects an abnormality it cuts off my feeling of pain in that area and begins to work on repairing the damage. However, it consumes vast quantities of magic in order to do so, so if I suffer too many wounds my body will force itself into an unconscious state in order to prioritize my safety."

"Is that why you wounded yourself?" Makarov asked as he thought back to that day, the image of Lucy's blood spraying from her back something that he wished he could forget.

"Yes, with my body suffering such a wound the Weave activated automatically and forced me to stop. And it's for that reason that I'm not worried about my legs, when I have enough magic the weave will repair the damage."

The guild was quiet for a moment as everyone processed the information, but eventually Happy jumped up with a huge grin on his face. "Cool Lucy! You're invincible!"

Lucy flinched at that. "No Happy, I'm quite the opposite. If I suffer too much damage too quickly my body automatically shuts down and if I don't have the magical energy to repair my wounds then the weave won't activate."

Happy frowned at that, a paw going to his chin as he tried to work out what Lucy meant. "In other words, if you take too much damage…"

"Then I'll just fall unconscious and be left at the mercy of my attacker yes." Lucy confirmed. In truth, there was an even simpler way to kill her. If Lucy's body suffered too much damage in a single moment the weave would be overwhelmed and Lucy's life would be forfeit. It was with that knowledge that Lucy had leapt from the prison Jose had been holding her in. but Lucy kept that to herself, no reason to make people anymore upset than they were already.

Happy sighed in disappointment. "Aw man that sucks, I thought we could make you into a superhero."

A few chuckles sounded off from the crowd, but a forced cough from Gray silenced them. "So, what happened after these…experiments Lucy?" he questioned, hoping that his tone remained even despite the anger he felt inside for the people who treated Lucy as nothing more than a tool during her childhood. Did the bastards not have any morals at all?

"Right." Lucy replied with another deep breath, knowing what was coming. "Implementing the weave into my body was a long and delicate process, as it had to be woven directly into my body bit by bit, but eventually it finished and the white haired man left the institute. After that the next few year or so of my life was spent being experimented on, testing the limits of my abilities to regenerate from wounds, and physical training…and that continued on until I was introduced to my mom."

* * *

Subject One walked through the halls flanked by multiple researchers, a frown on her face as she attempted to deduce what was happening. If she was simply being taken to another test they wouldn't bother having so many people escort her, so what was their purpose?

Her answer came when they reached the end of the hall to see a man standing there wearing a business suit. A man Subject One instantly recognized as the head of the institute, Jude Heartfilia.

Jude didn't say anything as they approached, instead simply gazing at the child with an analytical eye. When Subject One finally arrived in front of him, he bent down to be at eye level with her, a cold smile on his face.

"Hello Subject One, how are you today?" He asked in an almost friendly tone, something that the child couldn't understand as he was the only one to speak to her in such a tone.

"No abnormalities." Subject One replied.

"I see…we have a new mission for you today." Jude continued.

Subject One's mind instantly emptied and her attention was completely on the man before her. She had been conditioned long ago to obey any and all orders she was given by those in charge. Her orders becoming more important than even her own life when someone said the word "Mission".

"Within this room is a being that will teach you magic. It is your mission to ensure the creature on the other side of this door trains you no matter what. Do you understand?"

"…order confirmed." The child replied, her face expressionless.

No one said anything as one of the researchers opened the massive metal door, revealing a completely back room beyond, the sound of something massive moving around within. Subject One however didn't hesitate to stroll into the darkness and heard the door slam shut behind her.

The moment the light of the hall vanished Subject One heard the sound of something shifting in the darkness however she was not in scared in the slightest, someone who had spent their entire life in the shadows couldn't be afraid of what essentially the totality of her existence.

Eventually however her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and what she saw only caused her mind to freeze as she tried to process what she was seeing.

The room she found herself in was absolutely massive, the largest room she had ever seen in her entire life, and was only barely illuminated with an occasional torch. The ground was comprised of the same stone that made up the rest of the facility that had served as the Childs home but strange gashes had been sliced out of the floor in various places, making the room feel more like the one of the facilities training rooms than an experiment chamber.

It was while the child was inspecting the room that she heard the shifting of chains, but not the sound of the chains that occasionally bound her, no; the sound that these chains made was more of the dull reverberation of massive amounts of metal shifting around.

But neither the size of the room nor the sound of metal shifting were the cause of Subject One's surprise, her surprise was entirely due to the massive creature that sat in the corner of the room.

The creature was big, so big that one of its massive claws could easily crush Subject One's body. Its body was covered in scales darker than the shadows that surrounded it and spread out over its body Subject One could see swirls of dark red. The creature had two massive wings that looked very similar to that of the scales of its body, but Subject One couldn't completely tell as the wings were chained to its body in multiple places.

The creature shifted its weight and turned its massive head to stare at Subject One, and it was at that point that the child could see the origin of the metal sound. While the creature's neck and front claws were unbound, the entire back half of the creature was bound in multiple places with chains that were larger than the child herself.

When the creatures head was finally facing Subject One it opened its eyes, and while its eyes had no pupils and were completely white the child could tell that it was gazing at her.

"…what is this?" the creature slowly asked in an effeminate but loud voice. "Another fool sent to die by the Heartfilias? And a child at that? Damn that old bastard."

"…are you the one who will teach me magic?" Subject one quietly questioned as she stared up at the massive creature she still couldn't identify, completely unintimidated by the rows of teeth.

The creatures head reeled back slightly in apparent surprise before laughing so loudly that the room shook. "HA! Why those arrogant fools think they can simply force me to reveal my secrets is beyond me. Especially since they think to trick me with such a frail little…" The creature trailed off as it inspected Subject One, its eyes growing wide as it did so. "…what is this? What are you little one? Why do you have the scent of the ancient king on you?"

Subject One narrowed her eyes as she searched through the information she had in order to decipher the creature's words, but could find nothing within her mind that would help. "I do not know what you speak of; I have never known a king. I have existed within this facility for as long as I have known I existed."

The creatures head moved forward and turned its head until one of its white eyes was only inches from Subject One. The child could hear the creature sniffing, apparently scenting her, before growling and lifting its head to glare at the door.

"Damn you Jude Heartfilia! You would dare to present the kings descendant to me? Face me you coward!" the creature roared, shaking the room in its anger.

Subject One covered her ears as the creature roared but there was no look of pain on her face, her expression remaining blank as she stared up at the creature. "I don't understand what you're talking about, but I require you to teach me your magic…I require your strength."

The creature stopped to stare at Subject One for a moment before continuing. "Why do require my strength little one? Becoming a slayer is not something someone should desire, and the path to my power is one that will break you in more ways than you can imagine."

Subject One didn't hesitate before answering. "Because the purpose of my existence is to become useful to my masters. Without strength I will no longer be useful and therefore will be disposed of."

The creature recoiled slightly at Subject One's statement, its pupil-less eyes staring down at her. "And is that truly what you believe little one? That you only exist to serve their purposes?"

"I do, it was the first bit of knowledge forced into my mind."

The creature regarded Subject One for a moment before chuckling, a light laugh to grew into full blown hysterical laughter. "HA...while I don't exactly enjoy the fact that I'm playing into those bastards hands, I suppose the least I can do is teach my old friend's descendant how to live." The creature drew to its full height, or at least the full height that the bindings allowed it to. "I, the Matriarch of Chaos Dragons, Tiamat shall teach you the ways of chaos dragon slaying." The creature, now defined in Subject one's mind as a dragon, smiled then as it stared down at her. "Now then little one, what is your name?"

Subject One tilted her head at that, unable to understand Tiamat's question. "My designation is Subject One; I was not given a name as I have not had parents who would grant me a name."

"I see…" Tiamat murmured as she lowered herself back to the ground and closed her eyes. "Then I suppose that it will just have to fall on me to name you, as you are my child as of this day."

Subject One couldn't hide her surprise at that, her eyes growing owlish as she stared at the dragon. "E-eh...you mean…I get to have a name? I thought that those were only for people, not tools."

"Of course names are for people, and if I'm going to teach you magic I might as well start with the first lesson. Only living beings are able to learn magic, not tools. So if you wish to learn from me you can no longer consider yourself as such."

"U-unnn…I understand." Subject One replied, still uncertain as to why she was granted a name but she was…excited? Was that the name of the warm, almost tingly feeling in her chest?

Tiamat remained silent for a moment as she considered her options, but eventually her smile grew even wider and it opened its silvery eyes to gaze at Subject One again. "I have decided, from today on your name will be Lucy. That was the name my old friend wanted for their child after all."

"Lucy…" Subject One muttered as she stared at the ground, and for the first time in her life she smiled.

* * *

Lucy couldn't help but chuckle lightly at the looks of surprise on nearly every face in front of her, with the exception of those who had been in her hospital room earlier that day.

Levy and Mira in particular looked particularly surprised, their mouths hanging open. "You…what…you're a slayer too Lu?" Levy eventually managed to ask, her brain finally working again.

"Mmmm, a chaos dragon slayer more specifically." Lucy replied, somewhat uncomfortable with the silence that was stretching on.

Her guild mates were quiet for a moment longer before nearly every single one leapt upwards and cheered, causing Lucy to blink slowly in surprise and incomprehension.

"Awesome! We've got two dragon slayers now!"

"Fairy Tails most certainly the strongest guild in Fiore now!"

"Manly!"

Lucy watched her guild mates in surprise, not having expected their reaction. Wasn't a being raised by a dragon something to be scared of?

It was at that moment that Gray approached with a knowing grin on his face. "So that's why you got so sick on that boat? Something dragon slayers share in common?"

"Yes, my mom told me that dragon slayer magic alters our bodies in a way that makes us more susceptible to motion sickness."

Natsu jumped up then, a massive grin on his face as he ran up to Lucy. "Awesome Luce! We're both dragon slayers?" He confirmed excitedly.

Lucy nodded her head and opened her mouth to reply, but before she could Natsu had picked her up and spun her though the air, laughing like a child. "This is so cool! Finally someone who understands the horrors of vehicles!" Natsu paused then, seeming to realize something. "But wait Luce, I've never seen you eat anything like my fire. And you said your parent was a chaos dragon? What kind of dragon is that?"

"A chaos dragon is a dragon that consumes pure ethernano rather than any specific magic." Lucy answered as Natsu placed her back on the chair. "A chaos dragon doesn't have the immunity that comes with other dragon slaying magic and instead is able to directly consume the magic in the air. As magicians fight the ethernano in the air gets thicker, and that's what I consume in order to grow stronger."

Mira placed a finger on her chin as she thought. "So that means…that so long as you're fighting a mage…"

"My dragon slayer magic will allow me to absorb more magical energy while the weave ensures that my body is constantly repairing itself." Lucy finished. "I was raised essentially to become a mage slayer."

The celebrations died out at Lucy's statement, the implications of someone being a mage slayer but Natsu was simply too happy to know someone who was a friend was also a slayer.

"So your dragon mother gave you your name Lucy?" Levy questioned, trying to improve the mood, and received a nod in response. "Then why didn't she give you a last name?"

Lucy blinked slowly as she thought back to that day, trying to recall her mother's words. "She told me later that she chose not to give me a last name as someday someone who loved me more than she did would be the one to give me a last name. Although I couldn't ever get her to elaborate on what she meant by that."

Lucy watched in confusion as nearly every woman in the guild went "Awwww" with the exception of Erza, who's face turned as red as her face, while the men snickered amongst themselves.

"So your moms name is Tiamat? I think that I remember my old man mentioning that name a few times."

"that's possible, my mom told me she was quite good friends with the king of fire dragons." Lucy confirmed before her face twisted into a frown. "In fact…it was Igneel that she mentioned disappearing on July seventh, year 777."

Natsu's smile vanished at that, the date Lucy mentioned very important to him. "Your dragon didn't vanish on July seventh?"

"No, but she did notice the fact that the other dragons had left." Lucy replied as she recalled that day, a frown of her own now on her face.

* * *

Lucy panted heavily from her spot on the cold stone floor, trying desperately to get air back in her lungs.

It had been a few years since she had started training with Tiamat, or mom as the dragon had insisted Lucy refer to her as, and she had barely made any progress on her magic. Most of the first year had been spent with the chaos dragon teaching her more knowledge and correcting many misconceptions that had formed in her mind due to the information having once been forced into her mind.

For the first few months various researchers had attempted to sit in on her lesions, but Tiamat would refuse to speak in their presence or would even snap at them if they approached. And after a few researchers had bleed due to the dragons' unyielding nature they had simply abandoned the idea of observing the training, instead taking out their frustrations with Lucy during the ongoing experimentation.

Despite that Lucy had been…Happy? Was that the term for it? Tiamat had taught Lucy so many things that she had no idea existed in her cell. Tiamat had told her about the outside world, of what things like mountains, plains, and the ocean looked like and while Lucy still couldn't see these things for herself she was enchanted by their descriptions. It boggled her mind to think that the world was comprised of more than just cold stone or white halls, and hearing that there could be more than ten people gathered in one spot, such as these town and cities that Tiamat spoke of, was something she just couldn't understand.

But today was not a day of learning about the world and what the information in her head meant, no today was a day of violence.

Tiamat had been instructing her on using a technique called "Chaos Dragons Rending Claws", a technique that could rip apart magic with ease. Lucy had been learning the technique by going one on one with the massive dragon, and despite the fact that the chaos dragon couldn't move her back half nor her wings Tiamat was still able to mop the floor with the young blonde, hence her current situation of lying on the floor trying to recover.

"Heh, is all you've got today little Lucy?" Tiamat chuckled as she tapped one of her massive talons on the stone in amusement. "You won't be able to inherit my strength if this is your limit."

"I…hah…just need…hah…a minute." Lucy replied in between breaths, trying to ignore the soreness in her arms. Tiamat had advised her long ago to allow her body to feel pain once again and not cancel it all out using the weave. It had taken Lucy quite awhile to get used to it, as she had been reduced to tears with something as simple as stubbing her toe at first, but at this point she had adapted to the feeling of pain quite nicely. Now if only the rest of her emotions would catch up with her feeling of pain.

Tiamat opened her mouth to reply, but before she could say anything her head shot up and whipped around to stare at the wall, her silvery eyes narrowing slightly as she watched the stone.

Lucy sat back up when she noticed her mom's strange actions. Most people wouldn't be able to tell the dragons thoughts or feelings from her face and eyes, as the dragon had no pupils and with rows and rows of teeth it made her appear more savage than most. But Lucy had spent enough time around her dragon parent to know what she was thinking, and right now she was worried and angry about something.

"…Mom?" Lucy quietly questioned, feeling somewhat nervous about her mother's strange behavior. And her worries only increased when Tiamat didn't immediately react.

Eventually her massive head turned away from the wall to stare down at the ground, her eyes holding some complex emotions that Lucy couldn't identify.

"…so that is the choice you made Igneel…I pray that you've made the right decision for our race." She murmured to herself, sounding almost…sad.

Lucy quickly made the choice to cut off her feeling of pain, silencing the ache of her muscles, and quickly moved to hug one of her mom's massive talons. She couldn't understand why, but Lucy was terribly afraid that Tiamat was going to leave her right then and there, and for the first time in her life Lucy felt fear.

Tiamat, having apparently not anticipated being embraced, made a sound of surprise before wrapping her other claw around Lucy, comforting Lucy her in her warmth.

"I apologize Lucy; I didn't mean to make you worried." The chaos dragon hummed as she lowered her head to Lucy's level, a sad smile on her face.

Lucy didn't respond at first, still battling against the feeling of fear in her chest, but after rubbing her face on one of her mom's massive talons she eventually turned to look at her. "You looked…upset? Is that the word for it?"

Tiamat hummed in amusement as she nuzzled against Lucy. "The proper term is worried Lucy, but yes I am."

"Why?"

Tiamat hesitated for a second before answering, lowering her head to rest on the stone. "Let's just say…that my old friends have left for parts unknown. Like us, my friends had chosen to train dragon slayers, but they had to make a difficult choice and abandon their charges before they were ready."

Lucy paused for a second as she thought about what her mom had just said, her nervousness growing. "Does that mean…that you're going to leave too?"

"No Little Lucy, I can't leave you alone." Tiamat denied with a shake of her head before tapping one of the massive chains with her free talon. "Besides, with my body bound I can't leave even if I wanted to."

Lucy released her pent up breath, feeling…relived? She had just started to learn what it was like to be truly alive, and losing her mom at this point would crush her.

The two were silent for a moment before Tiamat gently pulled Lucy away from one of her talons and held her inches away from her snout. "I will not Leave you Lucy, at least not until you are ready to walk on your own. But in exchange would you do something for me one day?" the older dragon asked and waited for Lucy to nod her head before continuing. "One day, when you are free of this accursed place, will you seek out my fellow dragons? While I can tell that they have left, I cannot feel where exactly they have gone, and for the good of us all we must discover where exactly they have vanished to."

Lucy didn't hesitate before nodding again. "Unnn…sure, if my masters ever dismiss me or abandon me I'll look for the dragons."

"Thank you Little Lucy, but if you do make sure to keep it a secret from others unless you truly trust them."

Lucy tilted her head in confusion at that. "Why?"

"Because there are those in this world who would use the power of dragons for their own ends. And…there is one slayer in particular who desires the death of all dragons, and they would stop at nothing to hunt them down." Tiamat replied, sounding almost…sad.

Lucy still didn't quite get it, but nodded anyway. "I understand."

* * *

Natsu was quiet when Lucy finished, a frown of concentration on his face. "So you're saying your dragon didn't disappear like the others? And she was the one who asked you to look for the other dragons?"

"Yes, from that day on I would occasionally see her stare off into the distance in silent contemplation but no matter when or what I asked her about the dragons after that day she never elaborated about where they went. So now I search for any clues I can find about where the dragons are."

Natsu opened his mouth to ask Lucy what exactly she had learned but stopped before a single word came out. The blonde was staring at her clenched hands with an absolutely miserable expression on her face. At first Natsu couldn't figure out why, but as he recalled Lucy's story and what she had told him that day after Hakobe he realized.

Lucy had been sworn to silence on the location of the dragons, and if Natsu asked her he would just be forcing her to either lie or refuse to answer, both things that she clearly didn't desire to do.

 _Eh, if she knows something I'm sure she'll tell me eventually._ Natsu eventually decided.

"Lucy my dear," Makarov started, drawing the guilds attention once again. "You've mentioned the name several times now, but is it true that the one who controlled this facility was Jude Heartfilia?"

"Yes."

The master sighed heavily and closed his eyes in contemplation, now aware of where exactly Lucy's story would eventually lead.

"Master, who exactly is Jude Heartfilia?" Erza questioned, voicing the question the rest of the guild was just waiting to ask.

"They're an old family of powerful mages who have had connections to the magic council for generations. Many of the advances in Lacrima technology and magical techniques in the last fifty years can be traced back to their studies."

"I see…" Erza murmured, finally understanding what Lucy's connection to the council.

"So what happened next Luce?" Natsu continued, not really caring about whom this Jude bastard was beyond that he would be an enemy if Natsu ever encountered him.

"Well…for the next few months I continued to train with my mom, learning her magic and figuring out how to behave normally. Things were going as well as they could, and then something surprising happened…"

* * *

Lucy followed after the researcher in the direction of her cell after another day of experimentation involving testing her body's ability to recover from electrical burns. The experiments were the only time that Lucy cut still cut off her body's ability to feel pain as she had once tried to allow pain during one such experiment and the hurt coursing through her body had been almost too much to bear.

Lucy's thoughts were interrupted asthey started to get close to her cell and Lucy could hear a sound that she had never experienced before, the sound of a child crying.

Turning a corner to see her cell, Lucy was shocked to see a small girl in her cell, curled into a ball in the corner with her hands covering her eyes and her shoulders shacking as she sobbed. The girl had long dark brown hair and was dressed in a pink dress that was scuffed in multiple places.

Lucy blinked in surprise as the researcher opened the door to the cell, causing the sobbing girl to cry out in fear and edge away from the door, and gestured for Lucy to enter. Despite her confusion Lucy entered her cell, but rather than standing in the dead center of the cell as she normally did she sat against the wall opposite of the girl in order to study her.

Her mom had mentioned that she might one day meet other children inside the facility, but in the entirety of the nine years she had been alive she had never actually seen another child. How was she supposed to talk to them? Was she supposed to ask what was wrong? Should she try to comfort her? What should she do?

For a few minutes the only sound was the noise of the girl's quiet sobs, but eventually Lucy worked up the courage to speak. "Are…are you ok?" She asked nervously.

The girl's head shot up, two blue eyes stare sadly at Lucy. "I-I miss my mommy!" The girl cried out before her head once again sunk back down into her arms, her sobs growing even louder.

Lucy couldn't help but flinch at the loud wails, her hearing having grown more sensitive as her dragon slaying magic grew stronger. What was she supposed to do now? The child was clearly younger than her and had come from the outside world if she knew her own mom, but what was Lucy supposed to do to comfort her?

And then Lucy remembered the day the dragons left, and how her mom looked on that day and what she did to try to comfort her own mom. But would that work here for a human and someone younger than her on top of that?

Deciding to throw caution to the wind, Lucy slowly stood and made her way over to the younger girl as quietly as she could, not wanting to freak her new cell mate out any more than she was already.

When Lucy was standing just in front of girl Lucy slowly slid down next to her and leaned the brown haired girls head into her chest and wrapped her arm around her shoulder, hoping that it would comfort the younger girl.

Within a second after Lucy had sat down the girl had wrapped her arms around Lucy's stomach and her tears had started falling even more. The child's wails grew even louder, hurting Lucy's ears even more but Lucy did nothing to stop her cries beyond just holding the girl closer.

For what felt like, and could have possibly been, hours the girl's cries quieted down to an occasional sobs and Lucy's rags had become soaked with tears. But Lucy didn't care at that point; still unsure of what to do so she was more than willing to lend her rags to the younger girl.

"Th-…thanks." The girl mumbled as she wiped her eyes but didn't immediately remove herself from Lucy's embrace.

"u-unnn." Lucy replied, not dumb enough to ask if the girl was ok after what she had likely gone through. "Umm…do you mind if I ask your name?" she mumbled, trying to remember the manners that her mom had taught her.

"I-its Priscilla." The girl replied after a brief second of hesitation.

"That's a nice name, I'm Lucy." Lucy introduced herself with a smile.

The girl blushed slightly but didn't reply; instead turning her head back down and held onto Lucy's rags even tighter.

Neither said anything after that, Priscilla falling asleep soon after. And while Lucy would have preferred to move away after her little episode, Priscilla had latched onto Lucy's clothes and just wouldn't let go.

 _What do I do now?_ Lucy couldn't help but complain as she stared up at the stone ceiling, waiting for time to pass.

"I see…so they finally started to bring in more children." Tiamat had murmured the next day when Lucy was sent to her chamber. That day wasn't one of her dragon slayer training days; instead Tiamat was spending the day correcting Lucy's various misconceptions when Lucy had brought up her new roommate.

"What should I do about her? I've never met someone my age; I don't know what to say to her."

"Hmmm…" Tiamat muttered as she shut her eyes in contemplation for a moment. "You should just be yourself Lucy. Tell the child about yourself, comfort her for what she's lost, and protect her and any others that may one day join you."

Lucy frowned at that, not really certain what her mom wanted her to do, but didn't voice her opinion. If her mother ordered her to be kind to the others in her cell she would do so, even if she didn't completely understand how to.

Like Lucy had expected, Priscilla was still curled up in a corner of the room right where she had been when Lucy had been taken away for that days training. The brown haired girl was still sniffling occasionally but otherwise looked exactly as she did earlier.

The moment the door to the cell opened Priscilla's head whipped back up with a look of fear on her face, but the look faded slightly when she caught sight of Lucy being the only one to walk into the cell.

As the researcher closed the door Lucy took a seat along the same wall, somewhat close to her new cell mate but still a good distance away.

That didn't seem to matter to Priscilla however, as the moment Lucy sat down the brown haired girl instantly scooted over till she was right next to Lucy, her hand automatically grasping onto Lucy's clothes.

"Where…where are we? What do they want?" Priscilla eventually asked as she glanced from one wall to the other.

Lucy frowned as she tried to think of the best way to answer the scared girl. "I don't know where we are and as far as what they want they be never told me anything about why, they just experiment on us."

Priscilla whimpered at that, causing Lucy to curse inside her head at the fact that she just so bluntly said it. "W-where did they take you from? You're not from Malba right? I've never seen you before and my daddy knows everyone in Malba."

"I don't know where Malba is but no, I'm not from there. I've been in this cell for my entire life; I don't know what the outside world is like besides for what my mom has described to me."

Priscilla's eyes widened in both horror and pity as she stared up at Lucy's face. "You mean…they might never let us leave? We're going to be here for the rest of our lives?"

Lucy hesitated before answering, deciding in the end to just go with her gut feeling. "Maybe, but I won't let them hurt you, I promise I'll keep you safe."

Priscilla blinked owlishly as she moved in closer to Lucy's warmth, the blonde's body now running hotter than a normal persons due to her dragon magic. "Really? You promise?"

"I do."

Lucy could see Priscilla biting the inside of her cheek in apparent thought before sitting up and untying a pink ribbon that was wound around her wrist and wrapping it around Lucy's waist instead. "Here, those clothes are looking a little worn down and…" The brunette blushed slightly as she turned away. "Pink really looks good on you."

Lucy blinked in surprise as she stared down at the pink cloth around her waist, unsure what to do with the first colorful piece of clothing that had ever been given to her. But in the end she decided to simply smile as her mother had taught her and hug the younger girl from behind.

"Thank you." Lucy murmured as she enjoyed the warm feeling in her chest. Yep, she was definitely starting to enjoy the feeling of happiness.

* * *

Lucy couldn't help but smile as she thought back to her first meeting with her surrogate younger sister. After getting over her initial bout of fear and panic, Priscilla had warmed up to Lucy quite quickly and had always been willing to tell her stories about what the world outside was like for a little girl. A perspective that Lucy had been sorely lacking back in those days.

"So you weren't the only child kidnapped by the Heartfilias." Master Makarov eventually said with a sigh, his hand rubbing his temple in an attempt to force his headache back down.

"No; as time went on more and more children joined us in that cell. None of the other children went through experimentation like I did back in those days, only magical and physical training. However, if one of them misbehaved they would be punished in ways that were quite similar to what was done to me. As I was the oldest amongst them and my mom told me that the oldest has the responsibility to keep the younger ones safe I would often redirect the anger of the researchers onto me or just volunteer for more training or experimentation to distract them. It would work, most of the time, and our lives went on in that damp cell." Lucy grimaced then as she shut her eyes and forced her voice to remain composed. "But eventually that all came to an end, the day I mastered the art of Chaos Dragon Slaying."

* * *

Lucy frowned as two researchers lead the way to her mom's chamber, unsure what exactly was going on. Today wasn't supposed to be a day of learning techniques or knowledge from her mom, so why escort her in that direction as opposite to the rooms used for experiments?

Her answer came soon enough when they reached the metal door that barred entry to the dragons chamber and one of the men opened the door while the other forced Lucy inside. Although there was no reason to do so, as the moment Lucy noticed her dragon mothers condition she sprinted into the room anyway.

"Mom!" She shouted as she ran up to the black dragon in confusion. Somehow Tiamat had been chained completely to the floor, from the tip of her snout to the end of her barbed tail, and the dragons breathing was coming in short ragged gasps. "Mom, what's going on?"

"Ah, Subject One, so glad you could join us." A voice Lucy couldn't forget calmly declared from somewhere behind Lucy, a voice that sent a shiver down her spine.

Lucy slowly stood and turned to see Jude Heartfilia standing in the center of the chamber, a cold smile on his lips and a terrified girl in his arms. Lucy instantly recognized the girl from her dark green hair and red eyes as the newest child to be brought into the cell, and while Lucy hadn't had much time to talk to her in person, she still felt a cold pit in her stomach at the knife that was casually pointed at the green haired girl's throat.

"M-master…what's going on?" Lucy finally managed to ask, her voice cracking as her nerves got to her.

"I'm glad you've asked Subject One. You see; I heard from my staff that you've completed your dragon slaying magic training, is this correct?"

"Y-yes sir. Just a few days ago."

"I see, I see…but unfortunately there is one thing left for you to do in order to become a true dragon slayer, something I'm sure the Lizard here forgot to mention." Jude continued as he gestured to Tiamat, who growled at the insult. "You see Subject One, for a dragon slayer to become even more powerful they must steal the power of living dragons and make it their own. But to do so they must slay a dragon in a very…particular fashion."

"I-I see." Lucy's body suddenly felt cold.

"No Subject One, I don't think you do see. After all, the way to obtain a dragons strength…is to consume its heart while it still draws breath. and thus i order you Subject One, slay this dragon and take its power."

The room seemed to darken around Lucy as her legs gave out and her throat refused to breath. "No…I…I-I…" Lucy tired to deny her orders, to say anything, but the magic that had been forced into her mind compelled her to want to obey.

"Will you disobey your orders Subject One?" Jude questioned, sighing when Lucy was unable to answer. "I see, then I suppose I shall simply give you some more incentive than just power."

Lucy heard the Green haired girl scream out in pain, forcing Lucy's head back up to see that Jude had forced her to her knees with the knife directly against her throat.

"Slay this dragon Subject One, or I will slay Subject Seven in its place." The blonde man threatened, his eyes as cold as Lucy felt.

"No…please." Lucy struggled to say as her mind froze up. She had promised her mom and the others she would keep them safe. She couldn't just abandon them. But she couldn't…she couldn't harm her mother. But her orders…no, she couldn't ignore her orders either…but her mom.

As Lucy's thoughts continued to spiral further and further out of control, a calm but powerful voice echoed through the camber.

"Lucy…my child…you must do it…"Tiamat struggled to say through her bindings. "Remember what I taught you, you need to keep them safe right? Then do what you must do."

"No…mom…I" Lucy screamed as her feet disobeyed her mind, shakily rising and taking step after step towards the immobile dragon.

"Lucy…know that wherever you go in this world…I will always be watching over you and feel nothing but pride for you."

"N-no…don't…don't make me…" Lucy struggled to remain in control as her hands slowly and shakily rose, tendrils of blue magical energy gathering at her fingertips.

"I love you little Lucy…and I always will."

"Mom…MOM!" and with that Lucy's world was filled with red.

.

.

.

Lucy blinked slowly as the cold of the stone floor seeped into her body. She couldn't remember falling to her knees or staring up at the ceiling. But she knew that something had happened. She couldn't hear any of the noises she was used to hearing from her mother's chamber, not the slow steady breathing or the dull noise of Tiamat's talons on the stone. All she could hear was a sobbing noise and the sound of applause.

"Congratulations Subject One. You are finally worthy of the title of dragon slayer."

Lucy's head slowly began to lower, first to see the unmoving form of her mother, then noticing the puddle of blood that surrounded her, and finally the blood that covered her arms so completely that she couldn't even see her own skin.

 _I love you little Lucy…and I always will_. Tiamat's last words echoed in Lucy's hollow mind, her hands and body beginning to shake uncontrollably. And for the first time in her life, Lucy screamed in pain. A scream so loud and so filled with pain that it ripped through the air and her mind simultaneously until the darkness overtook her once again.

* * *

Lucy stared down at her now shaking hands as she finished recounting the death of her mother. She could hear people crying out in shock, while others still cursed loudly, their anger directed at the Heartfilia family. But there was one reaction that Lucy was dreading more than any other, and the sound of his chair toppling to the floor was enough to draw Lucy's gaze back up.

Natsu was standing now, his hands clenched at his sides as he stared at Lucy with a mixture of betrayal and anger on his face, a look that caused Lucy to grimace.

"N-Natsu…I…" Lucy started but stopped, what could she possibly say to make him understand, to make him forgive her for her crime when she couldn't understand or forgive herself?

Lucy could only watch as Natsu worked his jaw apparently trying to say something and as his fists continuously ignited and returned to normal.

And then, when it appeared that he could no longer take it, Natsu turned his back and stormed off. And that, more than anything else hurt Lucy.

Lucy's head fell powerlessly to stare once again at her clenched hands as she fought back the tears that were gathering in the corners of her eyes.

"Oh Lucy…" She could hear Mira mutter as a gentle hand guided her head into a warm embrace, but she honestly just didn't care at that point who was holding her, just so long as someone was.

"Master…" She could hear Erza murmur quietly from somewhere next to her.

"Mmm…perhaps it would be best to take a break from Lucy's story." She heard Master Makarov declare, but still she didn't care, she just wanted to ignore the world for a brief time.

Natsu stormed through the streets of Magnolia as he tried to think of something, anything, to get his mind off of what Lucy had said. Lucy, the first friendly dragon slayer Natsu had ever met, had killed her parent with her own two hands? Natsu just couldn't wrap his head around it. He was beyond angry, furious even, but not really so much at Lucy. He just…couldn't understand.

Eventually Natsu realized he had walked to the edge of Magnolia and was staring out at the sea, trying desperately to wrap his head around what he had just heard. Could he have made the choice she had back then? Could he kill his pops to protect someone in Fairy Tail?

Natsu stood there for a few minutes, not really thinking about anything other than his anger, when he detected the scent of the stripper approaching from behind. Natsu was planning to just ignore him as he continued to gaze out at the sea, but all that changed when Gray opened his mouth.

"You know; I've always know you were dumb Flametard, but I never thought that you were this stupid."

Natsu whipped around, intending to return Gray's insults with some of his own, but stopped when he saw the look on the ice make mages face. Gray was downright pissed, looking like he was only a few seconds away from decking Natsu.

But Natsu wasn't one to back down just because someone was angry. "What the hell do you think you know Ice Prick? You can't even begin to understand what I'm feeling!"

"Your right, I can't." Gray returned as he crossed his arms, a scowl still on his face. "I can't understand what Lucy felt when she had to kill the dragon who taught her. But I can understand losing your family, and I know you do too. So why the hell do you think that you, the only person who can remotely understand what Lucy's had to go through, get to just walk off and leave her there?"

Natsu opened his mouth to argue, but before he could Gray had rushed forward and socked him in the jaw, sending Natsu skidding backwards.

"Your better than that Natsu! She's your partner after all right? So do what any partner would do and comfort your teammate!"

Natsu's eyes went wide as he rubbed his jaw. Despite the fact that he didn't want to admit that Ice balls was right he was…well right. Lucy was his partner, his teammate, and rather than just feeling blameless anger Natsu should be there for her.

Gray, apparently seeing Natsu's realization in his face, nodded once before smirking. "About damn time, you don't get to be mopey Natsu."

"Heh, the world must be ending if I need you to remind me of anything." Natsu replied as he walked by, a clear look of thanks in his eyes as he passed his rival.

Eventually he found his way back to the open guild hall to find that most people were still around, talking amongst themselves and generally looking pretty grim. But Natsu wasn't back to talk to them, and when his eyes found Lucy still seated in the same place she had been he started to make a beeline for her.

Natsu could see a look of fear and anxiety in her eyes when she noticed him approaching, but Natsu didn't stop. There was something he needed to do after all. Erza noticed Natsu a second after Lucy and moved to stand in his way, clearly wary of Natsu doing something rash, but when the two mages exchanged looks she could tell that Natsu had calmed down at least enough not to accidentally hurt Lucy and moved aside.

All conversations stopped as Natsu arrived in front of Lucy, his jaw clenched as he stared down at her. For the first time since meeting her, Natsu noticed how tired his partner seemed to be, her eyes looked both tired and filled with sorrow, a look that she always seemed to have but only now was Natsu able to notice.

Natsu dropped down onto a knee so that he could stare Lucy right in the eyes, and the flinch that passed across her face when he did so only fed to his anger.

"Natsu…I…I'm." Lucy started to apologize, her voice sounding beyond tired, but Natsu didn't care, he had come here to do something that needed to be done.

Just as he had done last time Lucy looked this miserable, Natsu reached out and pulled Lucy into a tight hug, resting her head in the crook of his neck.

"It's ok Luce, I understand." Was all Natsu said as he placed a hand on her back.

He could feel Lucy tense for a brief second before wrapping her arms around Natsu's back, her grip so tight that Natsu was somewhat surprised at her strength. "Natsu…I…I miss her... so much…" She murmured before beginning to quietly cry into the fire dragon slayers chest, her emotions finally spilling over.

Natsu didn't say anything more as he gently rubbed the blondes back, her tears only falling faster as he did so, but inside his mind a realization had hit him.

 _Oh, I get what I'm angry at now._ Natsu realized as he continued to hold his partner, feeling Happy landing on his shoulder and gently petting Lucy on her head.  _I'm angry at the people who did this to her. And if I ever get my hands on them I'll rip them limb from only to keep Lucy's tears from falling again._

Eventually Lucy's silent tears ran dry and she leaned away from Natsu's arms looking somewhat better. Natsu for his part simply heated his body up slightly to dry the tears out of his clothes but didn't move away from Lucy's side, choosing instead to sit directly to her right, something Lucy was both confused by and grateful for.

"Are you ready to continue Lucy?" Master Makarov eventually asked, looking worried for the mental health of his newest child.

"Unnn…I'm ok." Lucy replied as she cast a glance at her partner. She just couldn't understand why Natsu didn't hate her now. She had killed her own parent, why didn't Natsu despise her for throwing away something he had lost? But she didn't have the time to worry about that now; she had to finish her tale. "After…after that day, something broke in me. I was no longer only Lucy. Another mentality had been created in me."

"Hm, that's understandable." Makarov commented as he crossed his arms. "The mental stress of such a situation would be far too much for most men to take let alone for a child like you were."

"Right…well when I next regained consciousness I could feel a separate part to my mind, another me in a way. I retained the emotions my mom had taught me along with my own will. While "It" retained the absolute loyalty to my orders and the physical instincts and chaos dragon slayer magic that I was taught."

"Wait…what's "It"?" Happy questioned from Natsu's shoulder, a confused look on his face.

Lucy tilted her head, a look of confusion now on her own face as well. "Well…"It's" "It", It doesn't have a name, so I've always referred to "It" by "It"."

The guild was quiet as everyone tried to make sense of what Lucy had just said, Happy in particular looking particularly confused. "…I don't get it."

Lucy opened her mouth to explain it again, but before she could Natsu leaned over with a happy look on his face. "I got an idea Luce! you just said that this…"It" you is the one who uses the dragon slayer magic now right?" Natsu asked, Lucy nodding her head in confirmation. "Then why don't we just call "It" Dragon Lucy from now on?"

"Dragon Lucy?" Lucy parroted in confusion.

"Aye! That's a super cool nickname for your other side. After all, it did beat the snot out of Natsu back in the phantom guild hall so it is kind of like a dragon right?" Happy said with a snicker, causing to yell out in anger.

"Ok I guess…" Lucy agreed, still feeling uncomfortable with how easily Natsu seemed to be moving on from what Lucy had done. "Well, after everything that had happened and Dragon Lucy was created in my mind the institute began sending me out on missions. Or more specifically sending Dragon Lucy out on missions and with its new form my dragon slaying magic became almost unstoppable when I faced off against mages."

"New form? What do you mean by that?" Levy questioned with a curious look.

Lucy opened her mouth to answer but Master Makarov beat her to it. "Lucy, was your new form the scaled claws, talons, tail, wings, and horns I saw back during the phantom war?"

"nnn, when a dragon slayer…slays a dragon they are able to absorb the dragons energies and grow stronger and take on a more draconic appearance until they eventually become dragons themselves. My…my mom mentioned that there was one such dragon slayer in the past who had completely gained the ability to transform into a dragon at will, but she never elaborated on it."

"Wait Luce, I don't quite get it but you can grow dragon wings and stuff?" Natsu questioned excitedly. "That's so cool; I wish my dad had taught me how to do that."

"No!" Lucy shouted, shocking everyone. "You don't want that to happen to you Natsu, I can't control myself when I'm like that. Not even Dragon Lucy is completely in control, it's just a mass of magical energy and anger lashing out at whatever it can." Lucy looked down then, one hand holding her other arm. "And besides…the only way to get that power is to…you know."

"Oh right, sorry Luce." Natsu apologized as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"I-its fine." Lucy said as she took a breath in order to get back on track. "Right, like I was saying, they began sending me out on missions all across Fiore and to parts beyond our borders. I was never aware of what was I was doing on these missions, as Dragon Lucy was in control, but I learned later that most of them were espionage, infiltration, battling against Zeref's demons and…the occasional assassination."

Makarov choked on the air for a second as he stared in shock at Lucy. "Lucy you've killed before?"

Lucy closed her eyes, fatigue on her face. "…yes, while I don't remember them I'm certain that I was sent out on those kinds of missions on occasion. It was why they made me the way I am after all." and then, just when tears were threatening to fall from her eyes once again, Lucy felt a warm calloused hand grab her own. She opened her eyes to see Natsu staring at her with a serious but kind expression, urging her to continue.

"The missions continued for awhile, becoming more and more dangerous to the point where i nearly died to Deliora on one particular mission. The other children were beginning to be sent on missions of their own or teaming up with Dragon Lucy on occasion. And the missions continued up until three years ago when things…changed."

* * *

Lucy sat in the center of the debriefing chamber and stared down at the completely white table before her. her recent mission, infiltrating a dark guild in Bosco, had met with less than stellar results and Jude Heartfilia and a few other researchers were currently discussing it amongst themselves mere feet from Lucy, apparently completely confident in the mental chains they had bound her with.

Occasionally she would look up at the man who had taken the only thing that mattered to her in this world and contemplate ending him herself, but every time her thoughts went down that path her body would freeze up, the mental programming they had done to her so long ago preventing her from harming her masters.

She wanted to go back to her cell, as it had been months since she had seen the others but she had been ordered to remain for the time being until they dismissed her. So Lucy decided to pass the time with something that she had discovered on the last mission, something that had quickly become one of her most precious possessions.

Slowly, so as to not alert the researchers to her having it, Lucy withdrew the crimson glowing gem from within her pocket, thankful that she had been given actual clothes for when she was sent on missions rather than the rags she had worn most of her life.

She looked down at the gem with a sense of wonder, as besides for the pink ribbon that she still wore around her waist this crimson gem was the only thing she had to her name that was truly hers. When her mission had gone FUBAR "It" had guided Lucy's body away from the dark guild to the point of finding ruins to hide out in for the night until Lucy could find her way back to the extraction site.

The moment Lucy had been given control over her limbs again she could feel pain over nearly all parts of her body, as the skin in the places the scales, tail, and wings had sprouted from remained raw and bleeding. Sure, Lucy could easily cut off the feeling of pain in those places, but what right did she have to do that when she killed the only person who had ever cared for her?

When night had fallen Lucy could feel a chill seeping into her bones and couldn't help but shiver. But as the night grew darker she noticed something strange in the ruins she was currently taking refuge in. she could see an orangish reddish glow emanating from underneath a pile of rubble within the center of the ruins, a glow that Lucy could tell was coming from a magical item.

Her curiosity getting the better of her, Lucy had moved away the debris to find a round red lacrima hidden away in the ruins, its glow only growing stronger as Lucy held it. The gem seemed to be heated from within and if Lucy concentrated she could have sworn she could see flames dancing within its depths.

Lucy had decided on impulse to take the lacrima with her, as the red coloring and the heat it gave off reminded her of her mom, and despite the fact that she had no right to be reminded of the dragon she had betrayed she still wanted something to remember her by.

"We cannot continue on like this. The council is beginning to question what exactly we've been doing here and we cannot continue to evade their audits." One of the researchers angrily yelled, drawing Lucy's attention away from the lacrima to the conversation that was occurring around her.

"Hmmm, are you certain we cannot just bribe them as we normally do?" Jude questioned with his arms crossed.

"No not likely, they have some new members joining the council soon, and damages inflicted by certain unruly guilds have shaken the public's faith in their ability to oversee the magic community. As such they have become particularly in depth with their audits recently. Our only options are to abandon this facility or…"Silence" the auditor who comes here." Another researcher answered as they adjusted their glasses with an annoyed look on their face.

"Why bother with them anyway? So long as we control the descendant of Solomon we can fight off anyone, council or otherwise. We should just accelerate our plans and send Subject One to deal with them early." Another angrily spat, his gaze shifting to Lucy for a brief second before shifting back to Jude Heartfilia.

Jude remained silent for a second in apparent contemplation, but eventually he uncrossed his arms and looked at each researcher in turn. "Very well, we will abandon the institute." He announced to mixed reactions. "Begin destroying the data pertaining to our subjects and long term plans." Jude began moving to the door but paused and turned to the others once more. "Also, liquidate all remaining subjects with the exception of One here; we no longer have any use for them."

The color drained from Lucy's world when she heard Jude announce his plans. He…he was going to take the things precious to her again? He was going to destroy the very people Lucy had sacrificed her mom for? Why? Why would her master take anything more from her? Why would he hurt her more?

But then she came to a realization, a realization that was only possible because of "It's" threat assessment. These people were not her masters. If they were going to take the things precious to her then they were just threats, and if she had learned anything during her time here it was one thing.

"Warning: Threats to primary consciousness detected. Eliminating external threats." Lucy's mouth moved automatically, the red gem in her hand glowing brighter and brighter and catching the table and room on fire.

The one thing that she had learned was that if something was a threat to her, it was her purpose to eliminate it.

.

.

.

When Lucy regained consciousness she was sitting in the middle of one of the stone chambers that she had walked through most of her life, but rather than the coldness that she was used to the hallway was completely different. The walls, ceiling, and floor were covered completely in flames and the top of the hallway was shrouded in smoke. But Lucy's attention was completely on the strange creature of flame that hovered a few feet away.

Slowly, the images of what had transpired came back to Lucy. She could see researchers screaming and attempting to flee from her path, only to be consumed in a wall of flames, she could see her hands push open doors to find experimental chambers beyond, the flames rushing into the room's only seconds later almost as if the fire was eager to burn away what had once been nothing but pain to Lucy. And lastly she recalled her cell, the metal bars turning orange and sagging in the heat of the fire, the inside of the cell empty save for the fire that clung to every surface.

As the images of what she and "It" had done slowly returned the creature born of flame slowly turned its gaze upon her, its eyes almost sorrowful, almost as if it knew what exactly had happened.

And Lucy knew as well, she knew that once again she had destroyed the only things that had mattered to her. By her own had she had burned away everyone who had once been a source of pain, and her only comfort.

Once again Lucy could only stare down at her ash covered hands in horror, the images of the blood that had coated her hands that faithful day rising to the surface of her mind, and for the second time in her life Lucy screamed in pain and sorrow.

* * *

The guild was silent as Lucy recounted the day she had burned her home to the ground. "That day I summoned Ifrit, the ruler of the plane of fire and prime spirit of flames, and was the first time I used elemental summoning magic. Ifrit's flames are worlds apart from normal fire magic and even fire dragon slaying magic. There is nothing in this world he cannot burn and because I wasn't able to control Dragon Lucy on that day his flames consumed the entirety of the facility, people and research alike."

Makarov closed his eyes as he recalled hearing the news that one of the council's lacrima research facilities had burned to the ground overnight, killing all who had been working within. The papers at the time had blamed it all on a local dark guild out for revenge, but it appeared that was simply the magic council trying to hide the truth.

"It was only a few hours later that a magical enforcer unit showed up at the sight of the institute, having apparently detected Ifrit's magic and having assumed the worst." Lucy confirmed Makarov's silent question as she continued. "When they arrived they found me, sitting amongst the ash and soot. They of course took me in for questioning and launched their own investigation and thus discovered the truth of the Heartfilia family and what exactly was happening at that facility. But despite what had happened they could do nothing at that point. Jude Heartfilia, the head and sole surviving member of the Heartfilia family, was presumed killed in the blaze and I, a near invincible test subject, was the only survivor. They could not even put me on trial, as the kingdoms courts would shed too much light on what a friend of the council was doing in the shadows of the magic community."

Lucy sighed before continuing. "So the council struck up a deal with me. I would remain quiet about what had been done to me and the rest of the children and aid them if they ever called upon me. and in exchange the council would ignore any and all activities of mine and keep me well cared for."

"So that whole thing about a bunch of old guys giving you money was about the council?" Cana questioned as she took another swig of whatever liquor was in her barrel, Lucy's tale having caused her to almost down the whole thing in one sitting.

"Right, they bought my silence in order to hide the public uproar that would follow an investigation." Lucy confirmed. "However, I wasn't satisfied with getting to go free, free into the world my mother and my fellow subjects had described to me over so many nights, with no repercussions. And after realizing that nothing good had ever come from my learning of Chaos Dragon Slaying magic I decided to have it sealed."

Lucy then pulled down the top of her hospital gown, revealing the dragon scar on the top of her chest. She could hear quite a few people suck in a breath at the sight of such an intricate wound, Natsu and Happy chief among them. "I had Ifrit burn a seal into my body, sealing my dragon slaying magic within my heart. That way the magic would die with me if someone eventually managed to kill me. and because it was the lord of all fire who sealed it away no one, not even myself, will be able to access it, even if my mind is not my own. Without both Ifrit's and my own will in sync the seal will remain intact. And while it is possible to force a slight amount of magic out of it, the seal will tear my body apart if I attempted to bypass it."

Lucy removed her hand from the gown, hiding her scar from the world once more. "After our deal was struck the council allowed me to go free, and with no real desires of my own I decided to begin searching for signs of the dragons. And continued to search for them up until I met Natsu and Happy in Hargeon."

With her tale finally told, Lucy turned to Master Makarov to see that the old guild master had closed his eyes and crossed his arms in thought, a frown upon his face.

The silence continued until Erza took a step forward. "Master…what now?" She asked as she took a quick glance at Lucy and saw how tired she looked. Erza couldn't help but feel for the poor girl, her own past matching up in so many ways that Erza could almost see herself in the blonde.

Makarov slowly opened his eyes to stare solemnly at Lucy, the blonde flinching slightly under his gaze. "Lucy my child…you have done much in your life that cannot be forgiven. And even if the council has chosen to simply ignore your existence as a wizard saint and as a guild master I cannot over look what you have done. And thus, you must be punished for your crimes."

"Gramps!" Natsu shouted as he jumped to his feet in order to defend Lucy, but was stopped when Lucy placed her hand over his.

"I understand Master; I was expecting this after all." Lucy sadly admitted, prepared for anything, even being exiled from the guild in light of what she had done.

"I see, then your punishment shall be as follows...you are to remain a member of Fairy Tail until the day comes that you have done enough good in this world in order to make up for the wrongs you were forced to commit. Whether that means aiding Natsu in his mission of finding the dragons or simply going on enough jobs in order to make the world slightly better, that shall be your punishment." He finished with an almost childlike grin on his face.

Lucy couldn't help it, her jaw dropped as she stared wide eyed at her Master. But from what she could tell she was the only one who was surprised by this. As nearly everyone in the guild was staring at her with a face quite similar to his own. "B-but Master! Someone like me doesn't deserve to stay in a place such as Fairy Tail!"

"Nonsense," The old man dismissed with a wave of his hand. "If anything Fairy Tail was created for children like yourself, a place to make a family for those who have none. And besides," the Masters grin became more childish then as his eyes traveled down Lucy's body. "It would be a real shame to lose such a hot young thing such as yourself."

"Master, you're going to make me angry." Mira warned in a singsongy voice and with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Lucy however couldn't be satisfied with that. "But Master…" She murmured as she clenched her hands across her chest.

Masters smile faded slightly as he stared at Lucy with a very parental smile. "Lucy, while we may not be able share every bit of happiness or sadness, we do share these things to some extent. That's what it means to be in a guild. One person's happiness becomes everyone's happiness. And the same holds true for our sadness, our anger, and our tears. There is no reason to feel so guilty over what you have done in your past. For now that our hearts are forever linked with yours we will help shoulder the burden of your sins."

Lucy's head lowered and her shoulders began to shake as she desperately fought to keep her tears from flowing once again.

But the Master wasn't about to let her off that easy, as his smile grew all the more grandfatherly as he watched her. "Lift your head high my dear, for you are a member of the Fairy Tail family."

Lucy could no longer keep herself in check after that, as sobs of happiness began to escape from her lips while tears flowed down her cheeks. She was certain that if her legs were working properly she would have collapsed into a heap as her normally repressed emotions broke free and rampaged. There were tears in nearly every woman's eyes while the men all cheered, or in Elfman's case shouted "Manly!" to the heavens.

However the blissfully happy mood could only last for so long, and when Erza walked to the front of the crowd and clapped her hands the guild instantly quieted.

"Alright! Lucy has finished her tale, now it's time for us to get back to work! We've got a lot of ground to make for now so no more lollygagging! Am I understood?" She shouted with a glare.

"A-aye ma'am!" nearly every person in the guild with the exception of Mira and the Master shouted as they scrambled out of their seats and got back to work on the construction.

Natsu, not wanting to anger Erza anymore than anyone else, jumped up from Lucy's side and was about to run to the nearest pile of beams when he felt a tug on his collar. Turning around, he almost yelped in fear when he saw it was Erza's iron grip that had stopped him.

"Not so fast Natsu. Someone needs to take Lucy here home since she can't work just yet, and you've volunteered so congratulations." Erza said as she gestured to Lucy, the blonde in question blinking slowly in confusion.

"I am able to help Erza, I simply cannot move on my own but I can summon some sprits to help." Lucy replied as she held out her right arm. But she was forced to stop when Mira whacked her lightly on the back of the head.

"Absolutely not Lucy, you yourself said that you need to conserve your magic for your weave to fix you up. So no summoning until your all better." The barmaid warned with the same face she had used on the Master.

The effect was immediate, as Lucy nodded repeatedly and lowered her arm.

Natsu couldn't help but grin as he gently pick up Lucy in a manner that he had heard Loke once called the "Princess style carry". "Alright Erza, common Happy!" He shouted as he started to make his way out of the construction.

"Aye sir!" Happy replied as he flew alongside, snickering and taunting Natsu about liking Lucy, already knowing that taunting Lucy wouldn't have any effect.

The three moved casually through Magnolia as they made their way to Fairy Hills, chatting about nothing in particular while ignoring the gazes of the cities citizens. Eventually they found their way to the entrance of the dorm and while Natsu would have normally preferred to just climb in through the window with Lucy in his arms that would be a little too difficult without slinging her over his shoulder, so instead he just used the door with a disappointed sigh.

Opening the door to her room, Natsu almost immediately walked Lucy over to her bed and gently placed her under the covers. Nodding in satisfaction at his handiwork.

"Ok good, you got anything to eat Luce? That whole story got me a little hungry." Natsu asked and before she could even answer he was already going through her pantry.

"But you're always hungry Natsu." Happy clarified from his spot on top of Lucy's stomach, enjoying the warmth of both the bedding and Lucy at the same time.

"Its fine Happy, I can just get the Council to give me more money for groceries." Lucy commented seriously, something that caused her teammates to break out into laughter.

Natsu returned a few second later, chowing down on a piece of beef jerky that Lucy didn't remember purchasing but didn't care either way, a dragon slayers stomach was tough enough to eat some old dried meat anyway. But she did have something she wanted to say before Natsu left, and she wasn't going to get a better chance than this.

"Hey…Natsu?" She quietly asked, drawing the pink haired boy's attention. "I was wondering if you could do something for me."

"Sure Luce, what do ya need?" He replied almost instantly as he sat down next to Lucy's bed.

"I…I was wondering if you could tell me some stories about Igneel sometime." Lucy finally asked as she looked out the window, not wanting to look Natsu in the face.

Natsu blinked in surprise, not expecting Lucy to bring up dragons so soon, but smiled anyway. "Sure Luce, I'd be happy to. But do you mind if I ask why?"

"Well…it's just that I always wanted to talk to someone else about their time with their dragon parent, as my time with Tiamat wasn't exactly normal, and my mom always talked about your dad so I just thought…" Lucy explained with slightly pink cheeks.

Natsu couldn't help but smile more at that, finally able to speak to another slayer about their dragons. "Of course! But only if you tell me some more stories about your mom. I want to hear more about my dad's old friend."

"Of course I would be happy to." Lucy replied with a smile.

The three chatted for a few more minutes before Natsu jumped up with a childlike grin. "Ok well, we got to get back before Erza gets mad. Cya later Luce!" he shouted as he opened the window by Lucy's bed and jumped outside.

"Bye Lucy!" Happy echoed as he too flew out the window after his pink haired partner.

Lucy waved for a second before lying back on her bed and shielding her eyes with her arm, sighing heavily.

"Well…that was quite a day." She commented to herself before sighing again. She never liked thinking about her past, let alone talking about it, but after going on a trip down memory lane she couldn't help but think back to the burnt out land she had once come from, a frown now on her face.

"I think…that it's about time for me to visit home."


	12. Solomon's Child

Natsu couldn't help but think that however the pompous dude who coined the expression "that Crocus was not built in a day." knew the horrors of construction more than most people did as he placed another piece of timber on the pile that was even taller than him.

It had been a few days since everything involved with the Phantom war ended and even with Laki's help the still only had the rough outline of the new Faiy Tail guild hall. Of course that might have something to do with how big they were making the new one as opposed to the old but Natsu didn't really care about that, so long as his family was there it could be a hole in the ground and he would be happy.

But then again not all of his family was there. Despite not having anything to do but recover Lucy was still bedridden within Fairy Hills, the only change being that she could slightly move her legs now but grimaced every time she did so. Natsu, Erza, Gray, and Happy had been paying her daily visits along with meals prepared by Mira and while the blonde dragon slayer had smiled and greeted them each time Natsu could see that behind her happiness something was still bothering her. Sure, she did just admit to the entire guild that she had been raised as a magical assassin and that would ruin anyone's mood for awhile but Fairy Tail had still just accepted her just like they always do for people with dirty laundry in their pasts. So Natsu just couldn't figure out why exactly his partner had storm clouds hanging over her head, and that was something that frustrated him for reasons he couldn't quite explain.

But Natsu didn't have time to ponder his blonde teammate's apparent depression, as before he could think too much on it he was shoved from behind by a very smug looking Gray.

"Awww, what's wrong wittle Natsu? Is that all the planks you can carry with your wittle arms?" Gray mocked in a baby voice, instantly erasing any concerns Natsu had at the moment and replacing them with pure rage.

"You want to try that again Icicle Brains? Because I think you've been seeing things. I can carry ten times what you can!" Natsu challenged as he butted his head against Gray's, the Ice make mage not backing down in the slightest.

"You're on Flame brain."

However neither got the chance to make good on their challenges, as a second later they were both pounded into the ground with enough force to kill lesser men.

"Enough lollygagging you two! There's a lot of work to do and not enough time to do it so get back to work!" Erza shouted from her position above the two boys, both of who had been hit so hard that they had actually sunk into the earth by a few feet, only their heads still above the earth.

"Ow Erza! That really hurt!" the two mages wined as they extracted themselves out of the earth, rubbing their heads to alleviate the pain.

"Cool! Are we playing whack a mole?" Happy asked as he flew over, his eyes shining in excitement but was promptly ignored by the two.

The day continued on in much of the same way, the only strange thing being a random stream of water that soaked Natsu, Gray, and Happy and deposited a lunch in its place. But that changed however towards the end of the day when Loke approached looking absolutely exhausted.

"Hey guys, I just wanted to check on how Lucy's doing. Has she been well after…you know, after everything that's happened?"

"She's exhausted but improving, it's been a hard week for her after all." Erza answered dutifly.

"You ok man? We haven't seen you since the war." Gray commented as he took in his friend's disheveled state.

"Ya, you are looking pretty pale." Happy added worriedly as he hovered alongside the ring mage.

"Well I did have to go toe to toe with the Iron dragon slayer and he wasn't exactly pulling his punches either." Loke replied sounding just as tired as he looked. "Plus it can be pretty exhausting being such a ladies' man."

The group was silent for a moment until Natsu pointed over his shoulder in the direction of Fairy Hills. "She's ok, a little sad after everything that's happened but getting were actually going to visit her again today if you wanted to tag along. She says she enjoys the company since she can't move anyway."

But Loke slowly shook his head in denial. "No thanks, I'm not really any good around Elemental summoners after all. See ya around." And with that Loke turned and started walking away.

Natsu couldn't help but bare his teeth in annoyance. "Seriously? It's only Lucy and it's not like she would ever hurt any of us intentionally."

"Everyone has some things they just aren't good at dealing with Natsu, it just so happens that Loke's is Elemental Wizards. Just leave him be." Erza gently chastised before turning in the direction of Fairy Hills. "Now chop, chop. Lucy's waiting for us to bring her a meal and I won't have you two be the reason for our delay." And with that she began walking away, Natsu and Happy almost instantly on her heels.

Gray however hung back, starring through narrowed eyes at Loke's retreating figure. Something was off about the guy, Gray was certain of that, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. But even still he wasn't about to let this slide, it was hard enough to keep Lucy and Natsu from falling into depression after everything that had happened and if the guilds resident ladies man was soon to follow then it could only mean that the world as coming to an end.

_Geez, why the hell does it fall to me to keep everyone from falling into depression?_

* * *

The walk to Fairy Hills was short but quiet, only a few brief words exchanged between them as they made their way through the city. Eventually however they reached the Fairy Hills itself Erza entering through the front door while Gray and Natsu began scaling the building. Erza had granted the two men special permission to enter Fairy Hills so long as they kept to Lucy's room and did nothing to dishonor the girl. And while neither considered themselves cowards they weren't going to risk the wrath of Erza just to satisfy some curiosity about the women's dorm.

"Heya Luce! How ya feeling?" Natsu asked as he peaked into the window, expecting to see Lucy in her bed right next to the window, but was surprised to see the bed completely empty instead.

"Move it Natsu, I'd rather not be hanging outside the women's dorm for too long." Gray said with a sigh as he gripped the window beneath Lucy's, a room that Gray assumed was Bisca's based simply off of how many guns he saw inside.

"Honestly, haven't you three ever heard of entering a ladies room with grace and style?" Erza commented with a sigh from Lucy's table, a cup of tea somehow in front of her.

 _Ya, because your just the picture of elegance aren't ya?_ The two boys thought at the same time as the pulled themselves into Lucy's room and looked around.

"Ok, so Lucy's up apparently, but where is she? The bathroom?" Gray questioned out loud as he explored Lucy's room in search of the blonde, returning almost instantly with a shake of his head.

"Lucy? You in here?" Happy questioned as he searched Lucy's underwear drawer with a snicker, but was promptly stopped by Erza when she smacked him on the head.

"Wherever she went she left only a little while ago, her scent is still really strong." Natsu commented as he crossed his arms, annoyed that Lucy was missing when she was still recovering.

"Wow, look at this Natsu!" Happy exclaimed as he flew over to the dragon slayer with a notebook in his hands, Lucy's handwriting covering the front cover.

"Huh, "Notes on the Fairy Tail guild" wonder why she wrote this up." Natsu voiced his thoughts as he opened the notebook, Erza and Gray moving to read over his shoulder.

All four were surprised to see that within Lucy had taken detailed notes on each Fairy Tail member inside. From strength and weaknesses to personality exerts, the book was filled to the brim with everything Fairy Tail is.

"Why did she make this?" Gray questioned as he read over his own page, feeling somewhat embarrassed to read that Lucy considered him to be one of the most calm and collected individuals she had ever met but still fiercely loyal and protective with his comrades.

"Perhaps it is something that she was taught to do at that institute." Erza replied, a blush of her own on the face when she saw what Lucy had written about her, a few words such as calm, incredibly powerful, and beautiful standing out amongst the pages devoted to her.

Natsu remained silent, his own page having been one of the first in the books but also one of the most confusing. Lucy had noted how disgusted with herself she had been at having to keep the information about the dragons a secret from him, but at the same time she noted how nice it was to spend time around him, how he made her feel like she might one day be able to forgive herself for what she had done just through his grin alone and how he was the first to accept her, something she had never received in her life.

But despite reading her apparent true thoughts, Natsu wasn't particularly happy. Sure it was nice to see what Lucy really thought about him, but Natsu would have preferred to hear this all from Lucy. He just wished that she would take off that mask she seemed to always keep over her emotions and just talk to them. Even after everything that had happened and her story being told Lucy still seemed to be keeping Fairy Tail at a distance.

 _Damn it Luce, why can't you just forgive yourself and move_  on?  _and where the hell are you?_

"…I found a note." Erza murmured, Drawing Natsu out of his thoughts and causing him to turn to Erza, who had her back to the group and a tiny piece of paper in her shacking hand. "Apparently she left it for us…she says…she's going home."

* * *

Lucy sighed heavily as she fought against her upset stomach, her eyes not really watching the surroundings flying by outside the train. With her dragon slayer magic sealed by Ifrit she couldn't feel the full force of the motion sickness that normally afflicted slayers but even with the lord of fire sealing her power he couldn't completely eliminate the feeling of motion sickness that assaulted her, hence her discomfort.

Thinking about the seal, Lucy couldn't help but grimace when she thought back to how close to death she had been. The seal was created so that unless both Lucy and Ifrit desired to release her power then the feedback her body received was immense, a countermeasure against people attempting to do exactly what Jose Porla had done.

The seal was actually the real reason that it had taken Lucy so long to recover. If someone had simply come up behind her and cut her down when she was using her regular magic she would have been up and moving only a day afterwards. But with the magical pathways in her body having been completely burned out from forcing her dragon slayer magic through the seal she had been bedridden for days and was even now still dealing with the after effects, her body sore and in pain with every movement.

In all honesty if Lucy had been forced to use her dragon slaying magic for a few more minutes she would have burned away from the inside out. Her life forfeit due to the machinations of a man who didn't know what he was dealing with.

 _But still...should I really go home right now though?_ She thought in depression as she stared down at her lap. While it was true that leaving while the guild was still under construction wasn't exactly the most charitable thing she could do but after speaking of the past she just couldn't just ignore the phantoms standing behind her back. The ghosts of her family she had burned away that day haunting her every waking hour since she had talked about her past.

And the only method that Lucy knew would exorcise them from her thoughts was to go and pay her respects, hence her need to take the train.

Getting off at the last stop, Lucy couldn't help but shiver at the chill that bit at her skin. The Institute had been founded far to the north, away from the curious gazes of civilians. And while Lucy had never been one to be too affected by the cold with her body still so weak from forcing the seal she couldn't help but hug her body in an attempt to stay warm.

"Hey lady, you sure you want to get off here? Not exactly much around here to see but snow and ruins." The conductor called out in concern from within the train carriage behind her.

"Yes thank you, I just have errands to run around here." Lucy replied as she began moving through the snow, the sound of the train pulling away echoing through the hills behind her.

For a few miles the only sound was the snow crunching under Lucy's feet and the wind echoing through the hills. But Lucy was perfectly alright with that, she had been talking too much lately after all and the silence was doing her some good, it but at the same time it was so strange not to hear Natsu and Gray attacking each other, Mira reprimanding her for something she should be doing to take care of herself, or Happy giggling over her head. It surprised Lucy how quickly she had adapted to the noise of Fairy Tail, and how losing it even temporarily was something that left a void in her heart.

But her reminiscing was cut short when the ground beneath her changed from bright white snow to blackened and charred earth. Lucy immediately knew exactly what she had stumbled upon, and her once pleasant mood instantly shifting into a more somber attitude.

Walking into the desolate area, Lucy stared at the charred stone and crumbling buildings she couldn't help but flinch at what she had done to her former home. Ifrit wasn't the lord of all flames for nothing, anything burned by his flames would forever remain charred and blackened and even in the beginning of winter the ground beneath her feet remained blackened and still retained some level of heat, preventing the snow from sticking to the ground.

But Lucy wasn't here to simply examine the handy work of her most powerful spirit and instead moved deeper into the charred ruins. Eventually she reached her destination, the remains of a charred and blackened hallway.

Ducking under a large fallen ceiling beam and sliding in between collapsed walls, Lucy made her way through the ruins until she found a ruined and melted iron door, a door that served kept her locked away for most of her life.

She sucked in a nervous breath and paused for a brief second before entering into her former cell to see exactly what she expected to. In the center of the small chamber was a pile on stones in a pile, a pile that had been created with care. She had gathered the stones from the surrounding ruins and had tried her best to remove as much of the ash and dirt from them in respect for what they now represented, but due to the stones having been burned by Ifrit she was only able to make the rocks appear spotted in a few spots.

But now she had a few more spirits than the last time she was here, and now she could finally give her lost family the respect they deserved. "Oh ever flowing water, manifest your champion before me. Come forth Nyneve." Lucy quietly chanted, a glow of blue light appearing before her for a brief second to reveal her blue haired spirit, her dress completely out of place in the frozen tundra she was standing in.

For a brief second neither spoke, both simply staring at the pile of stone before them, but before Lucy could voice her request she felt Nyneve's slender arms wrap around her neck and felt the her spirits warmth press into her back.

"Is something wrong Nyneve?" Lucy questioned in confusion, not comprehending what was happening, but the spirit didn't reply instantly.

"Lucy…I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you when you needed us most. The seal prevented us from breaking through no matter how hard we tried to break through, and by the time we could your magic was in complete chaos." Nyneve whispered her apology as her hug tightened.

It took Lucy a few moments to completely understand what her spirit was talking about, but when she did she couldn't help but smile sadly and place a hand on her spirits arm, feeling Nyneve tense up slightly at the touch. It had completely slipped Lucy's mind to summon her spirits and talk to them about what exactly had happened. She could understand why Nyneve was getting so emotional, as her connection to the spirits allowed them to feel and understand exactly what she was going through at any point in time. And that meant that they could understand all the physical and emotional pain she went through in the last week.

"Its ok Nyneve, I understand." Was all Lucy said in return.

For a brief time neither girl said anything, but eventually the blue haired spirit broke away. The somber expression on her own face completely different from the normally happy face she showed to others.

"So what can I do for you today Lucy?"

"…I would like you to cleanse these stones of Ifrit's power please." Lucy asked as she gestured to the pile in front of her.

Nyneve frowned as she examined the stones. "I would be happy to, but as these were burned by lord Ifrit's power I cannot guarantee how much I will be able to return to their natural state."

"That's alright, just please do what you can do."

Nyneve nodded and held out her hand, a pale blue glow covering her hand while water bubbled up from between the cracks in the floor and covered the stones in a sphere of water.

The minutes dragged on as Lucy watched as the ash slowly flowed away from the rocks, but as Nyneve had first said she was unable to remove all of the damage Ifrit had inflicted only the top few stones being returned to their natural grey color while those towards the bottom remaining black.

"I apologize Lucy; I am unable to fully purify these stones." Nyneve said as she stepped back.

"That's alright Nyneve, what you have done here is more than enough." Lucy quietly replied as she kneeled down in front of the stone.

"I see…well then Lucy I shall take my leave. Don't hesitate to call upon any of us if you need to talk to someone." And with that the spirit vanished into the same blue light that announced her appearance.

Lucy continued to sit there, not saying anything, not doing anything for what felt like hours. She wasn't really sure what to do or what to say.

"Hey everyone…" She eventually greeted awkwardly, a lonely smile on her face as she stared down at the stone. "I know that it's been awhile but I've been busy with my mom's final wishes and traveling."

Lucy stared up at the ceiling for a moment, trying to think of what to say. "…Oh ya, I joined a guild called Fairy Tail not that long ago and there's even another dragon slayer amongst their ranks. There are so many people and so many strange kinds of magic that it reminds me of when I first met all of you. Somehow I became partners with that dragon slayer, a fire dragon slayer by the name of Natsu Dragneel. And I've worked with others too, a woman by the name of Erza who's one of the kindest people I've ever met. Gray who's a lot like all of us but much more stable. And Happy, a flying cat who jokes a lot but a lot of them go over my head."

Lucy paused again, the smile that broke out at the mention of her team fading back into a grim visage. "When I talk with them I can sometimes forget about all that we had to go through in this place…but then when I return home for the night I can't help but remember the flames from that horrible day."

"I know…I know that what I've done can never be truly forgiven but…still when I stand with all of them I can't help but think that maybe I could stand in the light like they do. But then I remember everything I did to all of you and…and I just don't know…but I do know at least one thing, I will protect Fairy Tail just as I should have protected all of you. Even if it costs me my life."

Tears began to leak from her eyes as she gently placed a hand on the stone. "I just wish I could talk to you all again…and ask you to forgive me for what I did for you that day. But…but I know that I can never get the chance to ask that from you, even if I never deserve it."

For a time the only sound was Lucy's sobs echoing through the ruins, but after a few minutes another voice called out, a voice that Lucy hadn't been expecting in the least.

"Luce…" she heard Natsu murmur from behind her, causing Lucy to cry out in surprise and turn around to see her entire team standing behind her, frowns on their faces.

"N-Natsu! Everyone! Wh-when did you get here? H-how"

"When we saw your message we immediately went to Master Makarov, who told us of the location where the Heartfilia facility was once located." Erza explained as she knelt down beside Lucy and placed an armored hand on her shoulder. "Once we arrived at the stop he indicated Natsu was able to track you through your scent."

"I see…but why did you come?"

"What? Are you kidding? You suddenly disappeared leaving nothing but a not behind. Of course we're going to come looking for you." Natsu replied somewhat angrily as he looked around the room. "So Luce…is this cell…"

"Yes, this is the cell that served as my prison for the first fifteen years of my life."

The group was silent for a moment, Gray and Natsu both looking like they wanted to hurt something while Erza's grip tightened on Lucy's shoulder. But Happy interrupted the silence as he walked up to the pile of stones in the center of the room, looking more depressed than Lucy liked to see on his face.

"Lucy is this…a grave?"

"…because of the fact that the Heartfilia's had a strong connection to the magic council and because declaring us dead would lead to people asking questions none of the children taken by the facility could ever be acknowledged as dead the others were not allowed to have proper graves. So the first chance I got I came back here and made this to serve as a maker for everyone. A reminder of what was done to them by both the institute…and by me."

"Lucy, don't do that to yourself. What happened to you and those other kids inst remotely your fault, it's just the fault of the Heartfilia family." Erza reprimanded somewhat angrily, and while Lucy didn't quite agree with her she still nodded her head.

The five of them were silent for a brief moment before Gray clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention. "Alright guys, I don't know about you but I think we should get back to our real home now, we have a lot of work ahead of us after all."

"Actually Gray, the Master gave us special permission to take some time to relax and recover from recent events." Erza proudly declared as she crossed her arms and smiled. "And in fact along the train line that lead us here there is Balsam Village. What do you all say to a night of spas and relaxation?"


	13. Solomon's Child

Lucy had to admit that after relaxing in a hot spring she wasn't sure if she would ever enjoy simple baths and couldn't help but wonder how she had ever lived without them.

Erza had been right to suggest a little R&R the emotional stress of the last week seeming to evaporate from her body at along with the steam rising from the hot spring. Lucy was currently the only one in the hot spring, as they had only arrived later in the night, but even by herself she was still immensely enjoying herself, moaning in a way that would have caused most men to blush but Lucy was completely oblivious to that fact.

"Mmm…the moon is certainly beautiful tonight isn't it?" Lucy heard Erza ask from somewhere in the spa, her form hidden in the steam.

"I suppose so; I never really took the time to look at it all that often." Lucy replied as she too looked up at the night sky, enjoying the light show, but stopped when she noticed something strange. " Umm Erza, is it considered normal for this establishment to wear ones clothes when bathing?" she questioned the red head who was still wearing all of her clothes.

"I feel more relaxed with it on." Erza replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Mmm…I understand, but from my understanding of bath house edict is that it is considered improper to wear clothes in the bath."

"Oh? Is that so? Then perhaps I should remove them." Erza acquiesced before being covered in the light of her magic, her armor and clothes vanishing. Lucy blinking in surprise as she did so. "Is something wrong Lucy?"

"Oh no it's nothing, I was just surprised at how beautiful you are. I can see why they refer to you as the Titania." Lucy commented, completely oblivious to how close to flirting her comment was and the red tint to Erza's cheeks after she finished.

"Is that so? Then perhaps I should go around like this at the guild." Erza returned, trying to lighten the mood but underestimated Lucy's obliviousness.

"Mmm I suppose you could, that would also increase moral amongst the male population in the guild." Lucy agreed, a hand on her chin thought about it.

"That was a joke Lucy."

"Ah…I apologize Erza, back in the institute no one ever joked so I have never been great at detecting sarcasm or jokes in general." Lucy apologized with her head bowed, Erza placing a hand on the blondes shoulder.

"It's quite alright Lucy, tomfoolery is something I have trouble with myself. In fact, I would be honored to aid you in becoming more attuned to your funny bone and any other troubles you might have."

"Truly? Thank you Erza, that really means a lot to me." Lucy replied as she hugged Erza, remembering what her mom told her about returning positive affections.

The two women continued to enjoy the bath for awhile longer before returning to the hotel room they had all rented together to find Gray and Natsu facing off against each other with pillows in hand.

"Since we're staying in a fancy in we've got to have a pillow fight!" Natsu challenged arrogantly, a pillow in each hand.

"Indeed, and as such my arsenal is filled with all of the most powerful pillows ever created." Erza returned as she requiped a pillow into her own hand." Erza replied as she jumped into the combat and brandished her feather filled weapons, Lucy watching the combat with horror in her eyes.

_Erza has the most powerful pillows? I don't stand a chance if I become involved._ She decided, realizing that she had never been trained in the art of pillow warfare and without weapons of equal strength she would only fall under their down assault. And as such Lucy decided to retreat from the combat for a brief time and would only return when the battle was decided.

So with her body intact Lucy began to wonder the city, enjoying the sights and sounds of the touristy town. While this was not the first time she had ever been in Balsam Village the previous time she had relinquished control to Dragon Lucy as she was there only to observe a politician who had a particular love for something known as "mixed bathing", something Lucy never was able to determine the propose of.

But now she was able to fully enjoy the night, even if she was missing her dragon slayer senses. The oriental smells something completely foreign to her senses.

But her time alone was interrupted when she heard a high pitch voice call out to her. "Lucy! Where'd you go?"

"Over here." Lucy replied to Happy's question, the blue cat flying over and landing on her shoulder and looking at her in concern.

"Why'd you leave Lucy? You missed the greatest pillow fight ever."

Lucy explained why she had avoided the combat, the blue cat sighing in disappointment, but before Happy could say anything a new voice called out to Lucy.

"heya girly! What cha doing out here?" A male voice called out, causing Lucy to turn around to see two men staring at her with strange looks in their eyes. At first Lucy was somewhat suspicious of them, as she could feel some magic coming from them, but after Dragon Lucy determined that they weren't even close to being a threat to her she simply treated them as civilians. "You should come with us to have a funky good time with us chicky."

"Hmm? You know where to have a good time around here?" Lucy returned with interest, as she still didn't know the area too well.

"Hell ya we do, why don't ya come with us for a funky good night?" The other said as he grabbed Lucy's hand, his magic attempting to immobilize her but failing to even make a dent in her defenses.

Lucy was about to fight them off, her previous interest now gone after their attempt to use magic on her, but before she could even free her hand a streak of orange blew the two away.

"Are you alright?" Loke asked, with concern evident in his eyes, before jumping back and hiding behind some bamboo. And despite the strangeness of his actions Lucy smiled at him in return.

"I am thank you Loke. But why did you help me?"

"A coincidence mostly, I was after these two rouge mages and heard they were in town." Loke explained as he grabbed the two punks by the back of their shirts and began to drag them away.

"Ah…Loke can you wait for a moment?" Lucy cried out, the orange haired mage turning around in confusion. "I just wanted to ask…if you would like to go out with me?" she asked before a look of confusion crossed over her face at Loke's shocked look.

"No Lucy! You can't do that! What about Natsu?" Happy cried out as he put his paws on Lucy's robe and started to shake her, only adding to her confusion.

"What do you mean? Isn't Natsu still involved in the pillow fight? I can't interrupt that to ask him to get something to eat." Lucy replied, Happy sighing in relief.

"Oh thank god, I thought I was going to have to keep Natsu from fighting Loke to the death."

"Like Natsu could even land a hit on me Happy…but sure Lucy, I would love to get something to eat with you. Just as soon as I drop off these two fools."

Not ten minutes later the two Fairy Tail mages were sitting down in a local restaurant enjoying a drink from opposite sides of a bar. The atmosphere so tense that even Lucy was able to pick up on it.

"Umm Loke?" Lucy eventually started to talk, drawing Loke's attention. "Uh…did I…do something to offend you without knowing it? Because if I did I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

Loke looked surprised for a brief second before smiling sadly. "No, it's not that Lucy. I just…have a bad history with Elemental summoning mages." He admitted as he moved closer.

"Oh I understand, I apologize for inviting you here then. I just wanted to thank you for coming to my aid the day of the attack. I know that it isn't easy to go up against the Iron Dragon Slayer and well…thanks."

Loke continued to smile sadly as he nursed his drink. "No, it was no problem Lucy. I was happy to help."

The two continued to eat and drink in mostly silence after that, Lucy not much of a conversationalist to begin with and Loke dueling with his thoughts, but when two finished their meals they stood right outside the restaurant staring up at the stars.

"You know…Erza mentioned how beautiful the night sky is to me tonight and I have to say she's not wrong. All those lights up there…its quite beautiful."

"Is that how you see it? All I see up there are lights that will one day fade into darkness, lights that will lose their luster and never return to how they once were." Loke murmured sadly, not looking at Lucy's face and instead choosing to stare up into the sky despite the fact that Lucy was now staring at him strangely.

"loke…?" Lucy started to ask, but before she could continue she was shocked when Loke wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

"Lucy…the truth is…I'm dying." He sadly answered, the atmosphere in the area instantly chilling.

"Wha…?" Lucy blankly replied, shocked into inaction. But before she could even start to make sense of the situation Loke began to chuckle.

"Sorry, sorry, that's just a joke. A line I use to pick up chicks." He explained as he whipped the tears from his eyes.

"Oh…oh, is that true. I'm sorry; I don't get jokes that often." Lucy said as she tried to shake off the strange feeling in her gut.

"Right…well Lucy, I was glad I finally got the chance to talk with you…bye." Like continued in his quiet tone before turning and leaving Lucy alone in front of the store. And despite the fact that she knew very little about him, Lucy was certain that Loke's shoulders were carrying a burden, the weight on him similar to the load she herself carried.

"Loke…" Lucy said quietly as she watched him leave, a tight feeling in her chest.

* * *

A few days later Lucy and the others were sitting around the partially constructed Guild building, discussing nothing in particular, when Mira clapped her hands once and drew everyone's attention.

"Alright everyone! We're finally at the point where we can start taking jobs again so if you find one you want to take make sure to come talk with me about it." She announced to a chorus of cheers.

"Huh, I didn't think that everyone would be so excited to get jobs again since they hardly worked before the guild was destroyed." Lucy commented from her spot on the bar as she watched everyone crowd around the job board.

"Well they have been out of work for awhile and everyone has bills to pay." Mira explained with a chuckle before looking at Lucy with concern. "Speaking of aren't you in need of money? I know that Fairy Hill's rent is due soon and those hospital bills couldn't have been cheap."

"Oh that's not a problem. The council sent me more money just the other day." Lucy answered with a sad smile. "There are a few benefits to being a black mark on the council's records after all." Lucy then started to look around the guild with the same sullen expression. "Actually Mira…have you seen Loke around anywhere?"

"Oh? Have you fallen for the guilds resident playboy too?"

"…? No, I haven't tripped over him lately. I just have something I wanted to ask him about."

"Oh, well I haven't seen him but if I do ill tell him you're looking for him." Mira replied with a smile as she whipped down the temporary bar.

The two girls continued to chat for a few more minutes when Gray and Natsu stormed up with furious looks on their faces.

"Lucy! I won the pillow fight right?" The two shouted at the same time, Lucy only blinking in confusion in response.

"I wasn't present for the end of the war, but if I had to announce a winner then simply based off of the least amount of wounds I would say Erza won."

"What? Lucy, who could you betray your partne-." Natsu started to shout, but was cut off when a barrel struck him on the back and knocked him to the ground.

"Try saying that again!" Lucy heard Erza shout and saw her facing off against Laxus, who only smirked arrogantly back at her.

"I have no problem telling them. Weaklings don't belong in this guild!" Laxus shouted before turing to stare at Jet and Droy. "And you two, weren't you used as phantom's personal punching bag. Makes me glad that I never bothered to learn your names." He mocked the two mages in question lowering their heads in shame, before turning to Lucy. "And that leads me to the little miss monster who started this whole thing. Hope you realize that it's your fault that all this happened…you destroyed Fairy Tail."

Lucy, despite wanting to refute him, could only lower her own head in shame as well. Everything Laxus said, from calling her a monster to blaming her, everything was true and it was those thoughts that kept her up at night.

But Lucy had no need to reply to the massive man, Mira slamming her hands down on the bar with a furious look on her face drew everyone's attention. "Laxus! Will you shut up. The Master decided that no one is to be held accountable for what happened, not even you who turned your back on us."

"Shut your mouth! That fight had nothing to do with me. But well, you wouldn't be drowning your sorrows in this wreck of a bar if I had been there though." He replied with an arrogant shrug.

Apparently this was too much for Erza to take, as the red head took a menacing step forward with her fists clenched to her sides. "Why you…!" She started, but was cut off when Natsu barreled forward, his fists covered in flames.

"I've heard enough out of you Laxus!" The fire dragon slayer shouted as he swung at the older man, who promptly vanished into a bolt of lightning for a brief second before reappearing behind the confused slayer "Oi! Fight me like a man you bastard!"

"Heh, how are you supposed to fight me when you can't even hit me? Once I inherit this place I'm kicking every one of you weaklings to the curb. Your days in Fairy Tail are numbered kids!" Laxus finished before vanishing into another bolt, only leaving frustration and anger in his wake.

Lucy sat back down, feeling worse than she had in awhile but with a new question in the forefront of her mind. "Inherit? What did he mean by that?"

"Oh you didn't know? Laxus is the Master's grandson." Mira replied sadly as she leaned forward, an exhausted smile on her face. "But don't take what he said to heart Lucy, everyone knows it wasn't your fault that this happened."

"I know Mira but thank you."

"Damn that bastard, how dare he say those things about his fellow members." Natsu growled as his fist shook in barely repressed rage.

"Don't worry about him; he's only a waste of energy." Erza responded before smiling. "Why don't we go on a job to take your mind off of him? And we can get Lucy and Gray to come with us. Since we've all been working together from the Eisenwald incident onward it's only right that we form a team after all."

"Wait…I thought that they were already on a team?" Macao questioned Wakaba and Cana, who both simply shrugged in response.

"That's Erza for you, the last to realize something everyone else already knows." Cana replied before taking another swig of beer.

At first Lucy was happy beyond belief to be included in another team officially, not truly having a team since her days back at the institute, but after considering it for a second she couldn't help but frown. "But…are you sure that you want someone like me on your team?"

"Not "like" You, it has to be you! It just wouldn't feel right without you on the team you know?" Natsu instantly replied with a massive grin on his face, one that Lucy was quick to return.

"Well then, I guess that officially makes them the strongest team in Fairy Tail." Cana commented from her table, nearly everyone nodding their heads in aggrement.

"Since we are all in agreement why don't we take this job, "Hunting down a dark guild in the town Lupinas. We leave tomorrow morning so make sure to get a good night sleep. And no fighting understood?"

"Aye ma'am!" the two boys replied nervously before spiriting away.

Lucy decided that rather than just sitting around the guild hall it would be better to simply retire early and returned to her room in Fairy Hills, and as night fell Lucy prepared herself for bed, but before she could even get below the covers a furious knocking pounded on her window. And before she could even make a move to open it the person on the other side forced it open, revealing a very haggard looking Gray.

"Lucy! Bad news! Loke just up and left Fairy Tail!" The ice make mage shouted in a panic.

"What! Why?" Lucy cried out in shock.

"No one knows, all we found as a note on the counter saying he was leaving Fairy Tail. No one's been able to find him."

Lucy was about to jump up, intending to help search for the missing mage, but before she did something she had forgotten about returned to the forefront of her mind.  _Wait…it can't be…can it?_ She thought surprisingly calmly, likely from Dragon Lucy's influence. And while she wanted to go out and search for Loke, if she was right then there would be only one way to help him.

"I understand, I'll help with the search in just a moment. But first I need to confirm something." She answered Gray and shut the window.

Taking a deep breath, Lucy stood in the center of her room and held her left arm out. "Oh ever flowing water, manifest your champion before me. Come forth Nyneve." She chanted, her spirit responding almost instantly.

"Lucy? What can I do for you tonight?" The sprit asked curiously as she looked around the room, searching for enemies.

"Nyneve…there is something I want to ask you. Something pertaining to the Elemental realms."

"I see…and what exactly is it that you want to know?"

"…who exactly is Loke?" Lucy asked in the same no nonsense tone that Erza used, her spirits eyes widening in response. "I saw the way you looked at him the day we all switched bodies and it is clear to me now that he has a connection to an Elemental realm. Please…he went missing and I want to help him."

Nyneve shut her eyes for a brief moment, the joking atmosphere she normally maintained now replaced with all the poise one would expect from a greater elemental spirit. "Are you certain Lucy? Knowing about him will not save him and will only bring you pain in the end."

"That is fine, he suffered pain in an attempt to save me, and I couldn't call myself a member of Fairy Tail if I didn't return the favor."

"…fine then, just remember that I warned you."

* * *

Loke stood in front of the grave with an absolutely miserable look on his face. The only sound being the roar of the surrounding waterfalls. He was grateful to Master Bob for placing her grave in such a beautiful place, as he couldn't think of a better place to simply fade away in silence.

But contrary to his expectation he heard a voice call out to him, a voice that he had been praying not to hear again.

"Loke…" he heard Lucy call out to him from behind, Loke turning around to see the blonde mage slowly walking forward with a sad smile on her face. "Everyone's looking for you…"

"Lucy, how'd you track me down?" Loke asked quietly but Lucy ignored his question, instead staring at the grave in behind him.

"Is that Karen Lilica's grave?" She eventually asked, Loke inadvertently taking a step backwards in surprise.

"How did…?"

"Is it really that surprising that I would know about one of the only other Elemental summoners in Fiore? But seeing as how you came here I suppose you must have been one of her elementals right? Greater Elemental of Light Loke? Or would you prefer me to call you by your real name, Michael?"

For a moment Loke simply stared at Lucy, who watched him with a serious expression, before sighing in defeat. "I see, how did you find out I was an Elemental?"

"I remembered Nyneve's strange look when she saw you that day, and your talk about fading lights and just had to put two and two together. But I'm sorry that it took me so long to realize. Were you bound here by someone? I know that Elementals can't survive in our world for too long without a steady stream of magic."

"Your right, I'm running out of time. It's already been three years since I became trapped here." Loke admitted as he placed a hand on the grave maker.

"Three years! Someone was cruel enough to bind you here for so long?" Loke heard Lucy cry out almost as if she was in pain simply because of his pain and his smile grew wider for a brief second at the knowlage that she cared for Elementals so deeply. "While I don't know how someone did this to you I might be able to help. Lets go back to the guild ok?"

"I don't need saving Lucy. The reason I cant go back is simple; I broke the one ironclad rule that binds all elementals and as such I was banished from the realm of light."

"Banished…?"

"This is my crime Lucy, and as such I can accept my death." Loke admitted as he turned around to see Lucy's devastated face. "For the crime of killing Karen with my own two hands I must pay with my life."

Loke went on to explain how Karen had held the gem of light and had contracts with two powerful light elementals, a meeker one known as Gabriel and Loke. Karen wasn't exactly the best master, using Gabriel as a shield any chance she got and abusing the lesser light spirits as a form of stress relief. And one day Loke couldn't take it anymore, forcing his way through the elemental gem and staying in the human world in order to prevent Karen from calling on anymore spirits until she repented for her actions, something Karen was less than willing to do. Loke maintained his stance of remaining in the human world despite the fact that Karen continued to go on jobs, endangering herself at the same time.

For three months this went on until Loke was finally ready to forgive Karen for what she did, but that all came too late, as Master Bob came to Loke and informed him that Karen had died on a job, leaving Loke devastated and having broken the most important law in the Elemental realms.

"It was all my fault and I've lived with the guilt ever since. A life lost can never be recovered, and as the one responsible I have to pay for what I've done, even if that means fading away into oblivion in penance." Loke explained before a gasp of pain escaped from his lips and his body began to fade away.

"Loke?!"

"I guess this is it…thank you Lucy for listening to my story and tell the others I'm sorry." Loke apologized with a smile, content now that he was finally going to pay for his crimes.

"…no, I refuse to let this happen." Lucy declared in an almost cold voice, shocking Loke.

"L-Lucy?" Loke stuttered before he felt Lucy place a hand on his shoulder before the world exploded in a white light, the light of Lucy's magic. "Lucy! You have to stop, your body wont hold out if you use so much magic at once!" Loke shouted in a panic. If Lucy didn't stop she was going to start assimilating with Loke and end up disappearing with him.

"No! I refuse to let anymore of my family disappear in front of my eyes! What's the point of having power? I won't let the world take anyone else from me!" She shouted as even more magic power began to escape from her body, the world literary shaking in response.

"Please Lucy! Don't make me live with the guilt of killing you too!"

"You haven't killed anyone! If the world believes you to be a murderer then I will change this world! I won't let the world take anyone I care about ever again!" Lucy shouted in panic, her body beginning to fade away before Loke's eyes.

But before Loke could do anything drastic to separate the panicking blonde from him the world around them froze, the sky changing from the darkness of night to a sky of nothing but light. The water around them vanished and everything froze in place with the exception of the two of them.

Despite recognizing exactly what was happening Loke couldn't believe it. "No way…he's coming here himself?"

"Who?" Lucy questioned breathlessly, but before Loke could answer a man massive man appeared hovering over their heads. He was an older man, well past the prime of his life, but carried himself with the dignity of a king. He was dressed in golden armor with a massive ornate sword at his hip and a crown of pure light upon his head. But by far his most distinguishing feature was the wings of pure light that framed his back, the light emanating from them so bright that Loke could barely look at him.

He was the King of all light, the lord of the plane of Light Elementals.

"The king of light…" Loke murmured, Lucy tensing slightly in his grip.

"…Old Friend…as per our agreement with ancient man the taking of the life of a contract holder is forbidden and as such you were forbidden from returning to my lands. This is the decision of the elemental realms in accordance with our ancient pact." The King of Light explained with his arms crossed, an authoritative frown on his face.

_No way…he came here to the human world just to explain his judgment? Why would he do that? It's insane!_ Loke thought in a panic as Lucy stood up, an angry look on her face.

"Please hold for a moment oh king, this humble priestess wishes to appeal your decision." Lucy replied in a humble but respective tone, apparently having been taught by one of her other spirits the proper way to address a king of all Elementals.

The king turned his massive head to stare at Lucy but otherwise took no action. "Child of my old friend, the laws of our realm are immutable, and as such nothing can be done for my old friend."  
 _Wait…did he come here just because Lucy declared that she wouldn't let me die? Why would he care about a summoner who doesn't even have a contract with the light Elementals?_ Loke continued to try to make sense of the situation while Lucy's eyes narrowed in anger.

"Please reconsider oh king, Michael has suffered in the human realm for three long years, living with the guilt of his supposive crime all the while. Surely that has been punishment enough. He did not harm Karen directly and only did what he did to protect one of his own; surely you can empathize with a fellow sprits plight?"

"I admit that seeing the pain my old friend is in certainly hurts me, but my decision is final."

"…no, I refuse to accept this." Lucy eventually declared, all pretense of respect vanishing in front of her anger. "Loke has done nothing wrong!" She cried out, her magic once again flaring in response to her emotions.

Loke couldn't let her continue, at this rate she would anger the king of light and loose her contracts, he had to make sure Lucy didn't suffer for his sin. "That's enough Lucy! I don't want forgiveness, I just want to atone for what I've done and fade away!"

"No!" Lucy screamed out, the bright light of her magic mixing with the crimson sparks of her dragon slaying magic, her anger forcing some of her hidden strength through her seal. "You vanishing won't bring back those who were lost! It'll only cause more sadness to be carried by those left behind!" Lucy shouted out as she turned to Loke with tears in her eyes.

And that was when Loke remembered. Lucy, despite not being in control over her body, had destroyed the lives of the only people she cared about. Out of maybe the entire world she understood Loke's guilt better than anyone and when he really thought about it her burden was much worse than his own

"If you let yourself die then you only insult the memory of those you ended. We have to endure, to find a way to make up for what we've done no matter how long it takes and no matter what we have to do. That's the duty of those left behind!" Lucy screamed out as her magic began to swirl over her head, a creature of flame appearing from within.

"L-lord Ifrit…" Loke murmured as the king of fire appeared behind Lucy, staring at his fellow king with a look of sorrow on his demonic face. But if the king of fire was saying anything then Loke could not hear it and after a brief second the fire lord vanished once again, Lucy collapsing as her magic drained away. "Lucy!"

"I see…" The king of light continued as Loke helped Lucy back up, feeling how cold her body had become. "Well then let me ask you this, Child of my Old Friend, what will you sacrifice in order to save my Old Friend?"

Lucy struggled back to her feet as she stared defiantly up at the king of light. "…I would sacrifice anything, even my life."

"Wha…Lucy!" Loke cried out as he too jumped to his feet and grabbed Lucy's shoulders to spin her around. "What the hell are you saying!"

"I told you didn't I Loke? I'm not someone who anyone should care about. If I can sacrifice my life to save someone who matters then I would gladly do it. This world doesn't need a broken weapon." Lucy declared with a sad smile on her face, not resisting Loke's bone crunching grip in the slightest.

Loke couldn't believe it, had Lucy been hiding these feelings this entire time? She thought so little of herself? He couldn't let her go on like this, but before he could say anything the king of light continued.

"For the Child of my Old Friend to go to such lengths to save a spirit…perhaps the law is wrong in this case."

"huh?" Loke muttered unintelligently, his head whipping around to stare at the king of light.

"Spirit of light Michael, what you did you did for the sake of a fellow spirit and you, Child of my old friend are willing to sacrifice everything for an elemental…out of consideration for such a bond I shall bend the law this one time." The king declared, uncrossing his arms and smiling. "Spirit of Light Michael; I hereby grant you return passage to the realm of light."

Loke couldn't believe it, one moment he was ready to fade into oblivion and the next he was cleared of all charges and allowed to return home. "Please wait…I…I"

"If you still desire to repent for what you have done then I will grant you a punishment. Spirit of Light Michael, I hereby order you to serve the human who saved you with everything you have until her soul returns to the realm of light. She is a friend more valuable than all the gems on earth so protect her with your life as she was willing to do for you."

"Thank you, oh king of light." Lucy replied with a curtsy, a massive smile on her face.

"May the light forever guide you." The king returned before vanishing, the world moving once again in the wake of his power.

While he still couldn't wrap his head around it, Loke could return home but first he needed to let Lucy know one thing. "Hey Lucy? I just wanted to say…thanks." He said as he vanished from the world, leaving behind a gem of light in the blonde's hand.

* * *

Natsu was in shock while he walked around Loke and sniffed him experimentally. The entire guild had been shocked when Lucy had shown up in the morning after Loke vanished, announced that she had found Loke, and then proceeded to summon him.

"Wow so you're a light spirit Loke? That's pretty cool, not as cool as a dragon spirit mind you but still cool. Is that why your magic felt so weir when we switched bodies?"

"Ya probably." Loke agreed with a shrug.

"Gotta say I'm surprised you kept it a secret for so long." Gray admitted with his arms crossed, annoyed that Loke didn't trust him enough to tell him but not willing to bring it up.

"Loke is actually one of the most famous light spirits." Lucy commented from her place on the bar.

"That's cool and all but shouldn't you be back in your realm or whatever its called and rest up?" Gray continued.

"Its fine, I'll need some more rest but I'm doing a lot better than I was. I just wanted to come say hi and well…I just couldn't stand to be apart from Lucy for too long." Loke admitted, pretending to be embarrassed much to Natsu's ire. "But I also wanted to give my master and her team something." Loke continued as he fished four resort tickets out of his pocket. "I know you guys just got back from a spa day but I think after everything you five could use a little more of a break. I gave Erza's hers earlier so she should be getting ready already."

"Indeed, now chop-chop, we have a lot of ground to cover and the beach is calling my name." Erza announced from the guild entrance, a massive cart of luggage behind her.

"But Erza, weren't we going to go on a mission today?" Lucy questioned with her head tilted to the side in confusion.

"Fool! A beach resort takes priority over any mission. Now prepare to leave or I'll leave you behind." Erza immediately refuted, Lucy inadvertently saluting in response before running off to Fairy Hills.

Natsu grinned and was about to run off to his own house to get ready when he felt a hand grab his scarf from behind. "Hang on Natsu, there's something I need to talk to you about." Loke said with a serious expression on his face.

"ya? What's up man?"

"…I need you to watch out for Lucy."

Natsu couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. "What do ya mean man? Of course I'm going to protect her, she's my partner after all."

But Loke's face remained just as serious. "No Natsu, you don't get it. I don't mean to protect her from enemies. I mean to keep her safe from herself."

"…Huh?" Natsu replied dumbly, not sure what the light spirit was getting at.

"when Lucy was trying to keep me from vanishing the other night…she didn't even hesitate to offer her life in exchange for mine." Loke admitted quietly, making sure that no one was listening in.

Natsu's world went cold for a second as the implications of what Loke just said dawned on him. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"She practically flat out told me that she would be more than willing to give her life if it would mean saving one of ours." Loke continued on with an absolutely miserable look on his face. "Despite everyone accepting what she did in her past I don't think that Lucy herself has ever fully forgiven herself for what happened in her past. she…she has almost no self respect, she truly thinks of herself as nothing more than a discarded weapon."

Natsu clenched his teeth in order to keep from lashing out.  _Damn it Lucy, what the hell is wrong with you?_ "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you're the only one who can pull her back up. Us spirits love her, but we can't stay in the human world for long. And while I'm sure that everyone in Fairy Tail loves her like a little sister, you are the one who knows her best. You're a dragon slayer like her and you know what it's like to not have your parent around." Loke explained before taking a step back, his body starting to glow. "Keep her close Natsu, I think out of everyone here you're the only one who can bring her back into the light." He finished before vanishing into a beam of light.

Natsu watched the spot he had been standing in for a moment before turning and following after his team. Even without a promise with Loke Natsu would watch out for Lucy, even if he had to fight against the world to keep her safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> quick note in case i forgot to mention it. I'm re-posting this story from FF.net which is why I'm uploading much faster than I normally do. I'm trying to take some time to check for obvious errors before posting them here, but once i catch up with what I have written the upload speed will slow down considerably. Unfortunately, i just don't have the time i used too for writing for fun anymore.
> 
> see you next time!


	14. Solomon's Child

"Gray? May I ask you a question?...Are you certain that this is normal for a beach?" Lucy questioned with furrowed eyebrows as she watched people jump into and then run out of the ocean.

"Yes Lucy, for the third time, this is what you do at the beach. You make sand castles, or swim, or play with a ball. You just…do something." Gray answered as he placed the finishing touches on his massive sand castle.

"…And you're being truthful when you say that this isn't just a joke that I don't get?"

Gray had finally had enough as he jumped up and shot Lucy an exasperated look. "Seriously Lucy? You didn't have this much trouble accepting the spas so why do you have so much issue with the beach?"

"That's simple; hot springs are well known for their medicinal properties. On the other hand, the sea is not useful to me in any way, only damaging hair and causing damage to my throat though its salty nature." Lucy responded as she readjusted her swim suit, thankful that Erza had prepared a one piece of her, as she didn't feel like fielding questions about her scars to curious children.

Gray opened his mouth to argue, preparing to defend the many wonders of a beach day ,including bikinis, but stopped when a realization hit him. "Hey Lucy…what do you do when you go home?"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"I mean like, what do you do when you finish your day at Fairy Tail what do you go do?"

Lucy turned to look at her black haired teammate, not really certain if he was once again try to tell a joke. "I go home of course. Prepare a dinner, and go to bed."

"No I mean, what do you do for fun? You know, like how I pick fights with Flame Brain or how Erza always has cake nearby. What do you do for entertainment?"

"Ah…I don't do "entertainment." Lucy admitted, smiling nervously at Gray's shocked face. "Back at the institute my time was spent entirely on training, experimentation, or missions. And since then I've only been moving based on my mom's final wish or missions from Fairy Tail so I generally don't seek out fun. I understand the concept from talks with my mom and the other children but I haven't really experienced it much in my life."

Gray couldn't help but sigh as he rubbed his forehead. "Wow, Mira's plan isn't gonna happen too soon if this is the starting point."

"Mira's plan? What plan?" Lucy questioned, Gray seizing up for a moment before laughing it off.

"Don't worry about it…but what to do now to make you have fun?" Gray replied before crossing his arms and closing his eyes in concentration for a brief second before smiling and clapping his hands together. " Heh, I've got an idea. Come with me Lucy."

Gray ended up leading Lucy to a shop on the beach where one could rent both a sea creature that Lucy couldn't identify along with a wooden flotation device attached to said creature.

"Here ya go Lucy, I want you to ride on one of these things as long as you can ok?" Gray told her as he handed her the reigns, Lucy taking them obediently with a confused look on her face.

"But why? Is this supposed to be some sort of test?"

"Just trust me Lucy." Gray returned, but before Lucy could begin her aquatic adventure Natsu stormed up with a pout on his face.

"Luce, you weren't planning to go without me were you?"

"Uhh…I guess so? No one has exactly told me what I'm doing."

"Well then you're in luck!" Natsu shouted as he smiled arrogantly and pounded his chest with his fist. "Because I just so happen to be an expert on this…what are we doing again?"

"Oh, of course you are Ash-for- Brains." Gray replied evilly as he shoved Natsu onto the wooden float Lucy was standing on. "Well then you kids have fun!" He shouted before nodding to an employee, who promptly opened a gate and released the sea creature.

Lucy couldn't help but squeal in surprise as the sea creature yanked her through the waves, heavy tension on her arms as they skipped over the water and Natsu collapsing from motion sickness the moment they started, for a brief few seconds Lucy could feel her own motion sickness acting up, but after a brief second it was replaced by something else, something she hadn't experienced in a long time.

The feeling of trying to keep her balance as the massive fish took her over a particularly large wave, the entire craft going airborne for a few seconds. The exhilaration as the wind buffeted her along with splashes of sea water.

Lucy was excited, the feeling of testing her limits causing a smile and a giggle to escape from her lips as she angled the board at a particularly large wave, Natsu gurgling from behind her as they spiraled through the air.

_Ill have to thank Gray and Loke for this._ Lucy thought as she continued to race through the waves.  _I didn't think having fun would be so…fun!_

* * *

The rest of the day went considerably better than Lucy had expected, or at least it did after she got over her own bout of motion sickness after pushing herself too much on the sea ride. Erza, Gray, and Natsu showed her the in and outs of a beach day, containing everything from a sport called volleyball to eating shaved ice.

The only down side that Lucy had noticed was the strange gaze she had felt for nearly the entirety of the day. But as she couldn't detect any hostile intentions behind it she simply chose to ignore it, they were on a vacation after all.

And according to Gray the fun was just beginning, as the resort they were staying at was particularly well known for its night life. And after telling Lucy to find herself a dress from the rental store they had on site, she ended up choosing a dark red high slit dress, Gray told her to go and retrieve Erza who had retired to her room earlier.

_I wonder what else this place has in store for us?_  Lucy thought with a giggle, thoroughly enjoying what Gray defined as happiness, as she knocked on Erza's door and opened it at the same time. However her smile faltered when she opened the door to see the scarlet haired mage in full armor, staring at herself in the mirror with a complicated expression on her face.

"What's wrong Erza? Are we under attack?" Lucy questioned as she quickly scanned the room, not seeing any reason for her teammate to have retrieved her combat attire.

"Oh Lucy, its nothing. Just reminiscing." Erza replied as she turned to stare at her, a sad smile on her face. "Was there something you wanted from me?"

"Oh right, Gray said I should bring you down stairs. Apparently they have games to play at night." Lucy said, her own smile returning.

"That's right; I had forgotten that this establishment had such entertainment." Erza returned before glowing gold as her magic took effect, an impressive dress now on her body when the light faded. "Well then, lead on Lucy."

The two girls walked down the halls in relative silence for a brief time before Lucy looked up at her older teammate. "Um Erza?" She started, Erza turning to stare at her inquisitively. "I know I'm not exactly the best for this kind of stuff, but if you need to talk to someone about something…feel free to come to me."

"…what brought this on?" The scarlet haired mage asked with a surprised face.

"Well…it's just that you looked like you were thinking about something painful back there…and you all were there for me so I just…" Lucy started before bowing her head in embarrassment.

Erza chuckled lightly before pulling Lucy into a side hug, the blonde mage grateful for once that she wasn't wearing her armor as for once the hug was actually nice rather than painful. "Thank you Lucy and I promise that if I need to speak to someone about something difficult I will come to you. After all, isn't that what teammates are for?" she asked theoretically, Lucy smiling as well as she extracted herself from the hug.

The two Fairy Tail girls made their way down to a poker table where they both, for all intensive purposes stealing from the house, Lucy having obtained a talent of playing cards from her training and Erza claiming to be having a lucky day.

"In that case…how about we play a special game?" A new dealer asked the two girls after Erza claimed to be feeling invincible, the dealer tossing out fire cards to spell out "DEATH" "Lets play a game with your life on the line…my sister Erza." The dealer continued, bowing with a creepy look on his face.

"Sh-Sho?!...is that you?" Erza breathlessly asked, Lucy looking between the two with a confused expression.

"Its been a long time Sister." The man named Sho continued.

"Sister? You have siblings Erza?" Lucy questioned, her eyes never leaving the smug blonde haired teen before her.

But Erza either didn't hear her question or couldn't think properly, her lips trembling as she looked at the teen. "Youre…safe?"

"Safe?" The boy parroted, anger creeping in to his tone.

"Oh…I…mean…" Erza stuttered, her whole body shacking now in a way that reminded Lucy of the way she had reacted during the Phantom incident.

"Erza?" Lucy quietly questioned, her guard up after seeing her friends reaction. But before she could make a move all the lights vanished and a gunshot rang out. "What is…?" Lucy started to question but before she could finish the lights returned, both Sho and the other guests having disappeared at some point.

"Where did…" Erza questioned as she rose from her seat, Lucy following suit.

"Over here dear Sister." Sho called out from behind them, dropping a deck of cards on the floor as they turned, a deck of cards that now contained every civilian that had been present.

"Y-you can use magic?"

"That's right Sister, I've learned to use magic as well." Sho replied in the same creepy tone he had been using since the start of the conversation.

"What have you…?"Erza began to question, but before she could finish someone imitating a cat called out, magical binding ropes shooting up from the ground to entangled Lucy, who promptly fell to the ground with a thud.

"Lucy!" Erza called out as she turned around, ready to fight off the blondes attacker, but stopped when she noticed a brown haired girl. "Milianna? You can use magic too?"

"Long time no see Erzy! Are you feeling spiffy?" The girl questioned as she sat on the card table.

"Let go of Lucy! She's my friend!"

"Oh? We used to be your friends too, remember Sister?" Sho taunted, Erza clenching her fists in response.

"Youre…Erza's friends?" Lucy managed to say, wincing as the magical rope pulled tighter.

"Y-yes…I remember."

"Right?...of course that was before you betrayed us." Sho continued, anger and distaste now clear in his voice.

"Don't be so harsh on Erza Sho. A dandy man must keep his emotions in check after all." A blocky man said as he materialized out of thin air.

"Is that you Wally…? Youre using magic too?"

"It's nothing to be that surprised about Erza. After all, anyone can use it once they figure out the trick behind it." Another man called out as he appeared from Erza's shadow, an absolutely massive man with a metal jaw and an eye patch.

"Simon!" Erza shouted in surprise as she took a few steps back away from the newcomers. "Why are you all here?"

"What do you mean why?" Milianna questioned innocently as Wally chuckled.

"To bring you back with us of course."

"That's right…lets go home sister." Sho added, Erza shivering at his sentence.

"Let Lucy go! She has nothing to do with this!" Erza called out, hoping to spare her newest friend from the others.

"You'd better do as we say or else…" Wally threatened, his hand forming a gun and pointing directly at Lucy's forehead.

"No! Stop!" Erza shouted, ready to intercept the bullet, but stopped when she heard Lucy start to speak.

"I see…I understand the situation now." Erza heard the younger girl quietly say, her voice colder than Erza had ever heard her before. "You intend to take Erza…?"

"That's right, and since we already took out the ice and fire mages you were with no one will stop us." Sho taunted, Erza holding a hand to her mouth in shock but Lucy didn't react in any way beyond tensing slightly.

"I see…then that makes things simple." She started to say in the same tone."Then that makes you my enemies…"

Erza couldn't help but shiver at the blonde mages tone. "Lucy…?" She called out but the mage didn't respond her head lowered and her body ceasing all movement.

"You certainly keep some strange company there Erzy." Milianna commented as she pointed at the ropes binding Lucy which tightened in response.

Everyone there expected to hear Lucy cry out in shock or at the very least grunt as she struggled, but instead Lucy remained deathly quiet as her eyes turned to stare at four newcomers with soulless, empty eyes.

"Primary consciousness orders confirmed…targets identified…warning: unable to access magic due to magical constraints…formulating plan…confirm. Execute targets using physical combat." Lucy calmly declared in a strange tone, a tone that Erza quickly identified.

_Is this…dragon Lucy?_ Erza thought in shock as Lucy began to struggle against the ropes, Milianna laughing as she did so.

Ha, Ha…you can't break free from my Nekōsoku Tube dummy. You're not nearly spiffy enough." She taunted before realizing that black lines had appeared on the girls arms and that she was in fact breaking free from the ropes. "N-nyah! She really is spiffy enough!"

Erza, and everyone else for that matter, watched in shock as Lucy managed to break out of most of the ropes with the exception of those that were wrapped around an individual limb. The ropes tearing away with a loud gruesome sound along with a spray of blood from where the ropes had cut into her skin.

"It appears that we underestimated at least one of Erza's companions." Simon calmly assessed as his eye glowed red and the lights within the casino once again completely died out.

"Simon don't do it!" Erza called out, not wanting to have Lucy's blood on her hands. But her friend didn't respond.

For a brief second there was no noise as Simon and Lucy confronted each other, but before long they could all hear Simon cry out in pain. The shadow spell shattered as the massive man reeled back, blood dripping down his arm from a shallow but long cut.

Erza quickly glance around to see Lucy, a small dagger in her hand, charging at Simon, her eyes just as cold as Jellal's had been the day he had cast her out.

_She's going to kill him!_ She thought in a panic. But just as she didn't want to have Lucy's blood on her hands she didn't want Lucy to have blood on her own.

Stepping forward with her arms outstretched Erza blocked Lucy's path, unafraid of the small blade that was thrashing out at inhuman speeds. "Lucy stop! You can't kill if you're going to make up for your past!" She shouted desperately.

And to her surprise it worked. The blade stopped a few inches from hitting Erza in the arm. Lucy's eyes still blank but staring back at Erza's own.

"…orders received…ceasing combat functions…retreat from combat confirmed." She murmured before leaping away and disappearing down a corridor.

All five of the mages blinked in shock as they stared at the corridor that the blonde had disappeared down before Wally laughed. "Well now that that's over I think it's time for us to return." He replied as he pointed his gun at her, firing a tranquilizing dart at her.

"Sister…your finally coming home. Back to the Tower of Heaven." Sho said as he started to cry, Erza's thoughts becoming muddled as the tranquilizer worked its magic.

_Gray, Lucy…Natsu. Please be safe._ She thought as she fell unconscious.

* * *

Lucy crossed her arms as she stared out over the sea, fighting to keep her face neutral despite her growing seasickness. It had been over a day since the attack on the casino and they were finally getting underway in tracking the mages who had taken both Erza and Happy to parts unknown. The moment Lucy had regained consciousness from Dragon Lucy she had almost been overcome with sorrow at failing to protect her friend. Despite relinquishing control over her body to her other half she still could tell exactly what was happening and knowing she had failed to help Erza in her own time of need was almost too much to bear.

But she couldn't afford to wallow in self pity for too long, she still had teammates who were out there. And so Lucy had gone off to find Gray and Natsu, finding the former under the protection of the water mage who had captured her during the Phantom incident and the latter furious about being shot in the mouth.

Natsu had instantly jumped up screaming about the blocky bastard, as it was apparently that mage who had shot him, and had picked up on the trail almost instantly. He had wanted to leave immediately but Lucy had argued against it, saying that they needed to inform the authorities as to what had happened. But as soon as that was done she was one of the first on the boat they had rented, already ready to put as much magic as needed into the lacrima motor as needed.

"Damn…where the hell are we?" Gray cursed as he vented his frustrations, looking out over the sea with a furious expression.

"Have Juvia and her companions become lost?" Juvia questioned in a roundabout manner, the water mage perfectly comfortable in her heavy jacket despite the tropic heat.

"Natsu, are you sure that you still have the scent?" Lucy groaned from her spot on the boat, her motion sickness making it difficult to remain upright.

But she was still better off than Natsu, who was leaning over the side of the boat with a completely green face.

"Oy! We're relying on your nose to get us there dumb ass so pull yourself together!" Gray shouted at the disabled slayer.

"How dare you betray the Lovely Gray's expectations?" Juvia added in.

"Lovely?" Lucy questioned quietly, causing Gray to cough loudly to interrupt the conversation before Juvia could start again.

"But still…I can't believe that we let those bastards get the drop on us and get away with two of our own. Talk about pathetic."

"But still…Juvia finds it hard to believe that a wizard of Erza's level was defeated…" Juvia thought out loud, flinching when Gray turned his furious gaze on her instead.

"They didn't beat her! Don't act like you know anything about Erza!"

"I-I'm sorry!" The rain woman immediately apologized.

"Gray…" Lucy coldly warned, the ice mage clicking his tongue in response and turning away. "But she called them her friends…how much do we know about Erza if we didn't even know about them?"

"…what the hell is this ominous feeling?" Natsu said as he stood up, his motion sickness apparently gone, as he looked out over the sea at a flock of birds. A flock of birds that was falling out of the sky.

"What in the world…?" Gray questioned out loud as their boat hit a bunch of driftwood and dead fish, the driftwood bearing the Fiorian symbol.

"Look…" Natsu said as he pointed into the distance, a massive tower rising up out of the sea.

"That must be the tower of heaven." Lucy murmured, recalling the name she had managed to hear from the blonde haired, dark skinned boy.

" **Water Dome** ** _"_** Juvia chanted the water around their dingy rising up to cover them. "Now Juvia and her companions may approach the tower without being detected.

"Impressive." Lucy murmured as she swirled her hand through the water in an attempt to keep her mind off of her twisting stomach.

"Ugh…I'm going to be sick." Natsu complained as he once again collapsed from his motion sickness, Lucy completely understanding his pain.

"Come on Natsu! You've got no sense of tension!" Gray shouted, Natsu growling in reply.

Their boat arrived at the base of the tower completely unhindered and the four mages jumped off and quickly started to make their way to the base of the creepy looking tower and hiding behind the rocky outcroppings.

"They sure have a lot of guards." Gray quietly commented as they watched the masked men walk around the perimeter of the tower, flanked by creatures that could only be referred to as flesh with teeth.

"…Wanna charge at' em?" Natsu happy asked, ready to spring into action.

"We cant do that. Not until we can confirm Happy's and Erza's safety." Lucy instantly refuted, the fire dragon slayer pouting at being told he couldn't burn something.

"The odds certainly are against us." Gray said with a sigh as Juvia rose out of the water.

"Juvia has found a passed underwater that leads to the basement." She announced.

"Seriously? Good job!" Gray praised, the water woman instantly turning to Lucy with a victorious smirk.

"Juvia was praised! Not you Love Rival!"

"…Love Rival?" Lucy questioned as Gray coughed again, Juvia squeaking slightly and reigning in her passion.

"The passage is about a ten minute swim underwater."

"Oh that sounds doable." Natsu joked, Lucy nodding along with him.

"Indeed, ten minutes should pose no problem." Lucy replied as she prepared herself for jumping in, only to be stopped at the last second by Gray.

"One sec Lucy…can you actually hold your breath for that long?"

"Of course, part of my training was in deep sea infiltration after all. Ten minutes isn't actually too long all things considered."

the group dived into the water a minute later, only after Juvia had prepared air bubbles for them to wear on their heads, and after swimming through the ocean their group ended up in a massive cavern with catwalks heading in all directions.

"Well that was fun…but where the hell are we now?" Gray questioned as they pulled themselves from the water.

Unfortunately no one was able to answer his question, as before they could one of the flying creatures happened to find them, its rider instantly calling for help.

"Guess we've got to fight then." Gray continued as he got into his stance, ice already forming around his hands.

"Oh ever shifting spirit of the earth, manifest your champion before me. Come forth; Cybele!" Lucy chanted as well, the maid elemental appearing at her side.

"Hello Mistress, is it time for punishment?" Cybele asked hopefully.

"Perhaps, that depends on how well you take care of our opponents." Lucy replied as she gestured to the many masked opponents who were charging at them.

"Hooray! Punishment!" The earth spirit celebrated in the same neutral tone she always used before charging at the guards, sending each and every one flying through the air without so much as pausing to slow.

When they had managed to finish of each and every one Natsu grabbed the nearest semiconscious guard had held him up, a furious expression on his face. "Alright talk! Where the hell are Erza and Happy! And while you're at it, where the hell is Blocky!" he ordered, but before the man could reply a stairway opened up in one of the walls, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

"They appear to be inviting us in, so this is likely a trap." Lucy warned as she readied her bow, knowing full well that she wasn't likely to get much room for firing in the tight quarters that awaited them.

"Doesn't matter, we just need to beat the crap out of whoever is waiting for us." Natsu challenged before sprinting off up the path all the while shouting "Blocky!"

"You think we should tell him to keep it down?" Lucy thought out loud as they followed after the excitable dragon slayer.

"Not much point since they know we're here now." Gray said with a shrug before turning a corner to find a massive table covered in all manner of foods.

"Huh…I didn't expect that." Lucy commented as all three of her companions sat down and started eating.

"Princess? Is it time for my punishment?" Cybele questioned again.

"Mmm…I suppose so." Lucy agreed as she grabbed a lit candle off the table and dragged her elemental down the hall they had come from, Natsu and Gray watching her leave with mouths wide open.

"Did Lucy really just go do that?" Gray asked, trying to ignore the strange cries that were now coming from down the hall.

"I don't think it's a great idea to leave those two together too often." Natsu agreed in between bites.

"Dearest Gray, is that the sort of play you're into as well? Juvia is shocked!" The water mage cried out.

"Oi, don't you go getting any ideas now too." Gray shouted back as footsteps echoed down the hall Lucy had gone down.

"Are we ready to continue?" the blonde questioned as she reappeared now wearing a brown and red dress with armor on her shoulders and flanked by a very satisfied looking elemental.

"Wow Lucy, looking good." Gray commented with a whistle, Natsu growling under his breath.

"It is combat attire from the plane of earth." Cybele explained as she tried to wipe the ecstatic expression from her face.

"Juvia is mortified!"

"Your in Loooove!" Cybele continued, Gray and Natsu looking at the elemental with strange, exhausted expressions.

"How'd you learn to imitate Happy like that?" Natsu questioned.

"I have spent many days with Master Happy discussing Mistress and you Master Natsu." The elemental replied instantly.

"…is that why I could sometimes feel my magic draining without having called on you?"

"Indeed…well then, I shall pray for your success Mistress." The elemental continued before disappearing in a brown glow.

"They're they are! It's the intruders!" A voice called out, a multitude of guards running down one of the hallways. But before anyone could make a move for their weapons Erza appeared and cut each and every one of them down.

"Erza!" The two boys shouted while Lucy simply smiled, grateful they had found one of their missing friends.

"Thank goodness you're ok." She started but frowned when Erza stared at them with a shocked and somewhat nervous expression.

"Wh-why are  _you_ here?" She questioned, Gray and Natsu raising an eyebrow at her tone.

"What do mean why? Isn't it obvious?" Lucy replied with a furrowed brow while Juvia tried to introduce herself.

"Leave! Now!" The red haired mage commanded. "You don't belong in this place."

"Don't give us that shit!" Natsu replied as he slammed a fist into his open palm. "running away now would only tarnish Fairy Tail's name. That blockhead has to pay!"

"…I'm telling you to leave

"Erza, they took Happy too, we can't just leave him." Lucy added, not comfortable with either disobeying her order or the thought of abandoning her friends.

"They took Happy too?" Erza parroted. "that was probably Milianna then."

"Do you know where they are?" Natsu asked but Erza only shook her head in response.

"All right! I got it!"

"Got what Flame Brain?"

"The fact that Happy is waiting for me! Hang on little buddy I'm coming for ya!" Natsu shouted as he ran off, Erza trying to stop him but he vanished too fast.

"That moron…we've got to go after him." Gray said with a sigh as he started to move forward, only to be stopped by Erza's blade.

"No. Milianna's a incomparable cat lover who I can't see harming Happy in any way. I'll take responsibility for bringing both of them back but the rest of you need to get away from here at once."

"Erza, we can't just leave without you." Lucy replied as she reached out for the older woman, only to flinch back when she screamed back.

"This is my problem! I don't wish to drag you into it."

"I'd say it's a little too late for that considering how Natsu just ran off." Gray said with a shrug while Erza began to walk away.

"Erza…" Lucy murmured quietly and sadly, causing the older mage to stop. "I don't know what this tower does, or who the Jellal person your friends mentioned is. But I do know that you helped me when I almost fell into darkness. I promised you that I would be there for you if you needed me. And I can see that you need our strength more than ever now. We're a team right? Doesn't that mean we need to always have each others backs? No matter what?"

There you have it Erza." Gray added in with a smile. "And you know Lucy, she's just as stubborn as you when it comes down to it so you might as well give up."

"Leave…" Erza replied again, her whole body tensing up as she forced out the word.

"E-Erza?" Lucy recoiled like she was struck and even Gray was beginning to look upset.

"This isn't like you Erza. Just tell us to shut up and follow like you always do. We'll lend you our strength. There's nothing wrong with feeling afraid once in a while! Even for you."

But both Fairy Tail mages where shocked to see that when the scarlet haired mage turned around there were tears falling from her right eye. "I'm sorry….I'm going to vanish from this world, whether I win or lose this battle…" She murmured quietly, Lucy's eyes going wide while Gray took a step forward in anger.

"What the hell does that mean?" He practically shouted.

"This is a future that I can't fight…as such…I will tell you everything that happened while I still exist. This is the tower of Heaven…also known as the R-System."

Lucy listened as Erza explained about her past, about how she was captured when she was young and forced into servitude. She talked about how despite the pain that accompanied every single day she still managed to make friends with fellow slaves, a boy named Jellal chief among them. She talked about how they had planned an escape, attempted it, but had failed and she had been taken and tortured as an example.

She talked about how she had finally had enough when Jellal had been taken in her place and she led the others in a revolt. She spoke about how the revolt had been going well up until the cult that had taken them summoned magical soldiers to put down the rebellion and how devastated they had been because of them. She talked about how she had been seconds away from death when another slave that they all called Grandpa Rob stood and took a blast meant for her. The old man apparently having been a mage of Fairy Tail back in the day, and that his sacrifice was what awakened her magic for the first time, allowing them to win the day.

But when Erza had gone to rescue Jellal from the torture chamber the boy had changed completely, like he was possessed by all the hatred and resentment that had gathered in the tower. Jellal had attacked her the moment she had talked about leaving; telling her that the tower needed to be completed and that he would keep the others there in order to complete the tower. But she was cast out and told that if she ever told anyone about the R-System that he would kill her and her friends. And with that he cast her out into the ocean where she eventually washed ashore and found her way to Fairy Tail.

"I…will be the one to fight Jellal." Erza quietly declared as tears fell freely from her right eye.

"Hold on Erza! That Zeref guy you mentioned…"

"Yes, I'm sure you've heard of him. He is the one who created both Deliora and Lullaby."

"Are you saying that Jellal is trying to revive that same Zeref?" Juvia clarified.

"I don't truly understand his objective, but according to Sho they are supposed to become the rulers in heaven once Zeref returns."

"Erza…" Lucy murmured quietly as she placed a hand on the older woman's shoulder, Erza smiling sadly as she did so.

"We have more in common than you thought right Lucy? We both know the horror of being behind bars."

Everyone stood in silence as they tried to process the story, but their thoughts were interrupted when Sho walked into the room.

"What's with that story Sister? Are you trying to get your friends' sympathy with that nonsense?"

"Sho…"

"What a load of crap! The truth was nothing like that! You're the one that blew up the boats to escape on your own! He told us that you went mad because you couldn't control your magic and he was the one who saved us from ending up on the bottom of the sea." Sho argued, his entire body shacking as he did so. "He told us that you tried to cast off everything from your past, us included, so you could enjoy your freedom!"

"And you believed this Jellal character without question?" Gray ridiculed. "Do you really think the Erza we all know could do something like that?"

"What would you know! You don't know anything about us! You don't know what we went through."

"I do." Lucy quietly refuted, all eyes turning to her. "And I can tell you that no one could ever wash away the past like you claim Erza tried to do. The human soul doesn't work like that. No matter what the horrors of your past stay with you, no matter where you go or what you do."

"Lucy…" Ezra replied quietly as Sho took a step back.

"Your saying…that it was all a lie? That…that Jellal used us for eight years and lied to us?"

"That's right Sho. Erza's telling the truth." A new voice answered, a voice that belonged to the metal jawed man.

"You!" Gray shouted as he prepared to attack, only stopping when Juvia held out her arm.

"Please wait dearest Gray, this man knew that he was attacking a body double back in the casino."

"I would expect nothing less from a former member of the Element four." Simon commented calmly as he turned to Sho. "I'm sorry Sho, but I had to bring everyone to this tower without rousing your suspicions."

"Wh-why would you…?"

"Sho…Jellal fooled us all. I could only follow along and wait till the time was right."

"Simon…you…" Erza said in a daze, the metal jawed man turning to smile at her.

"I've always believed in you Erza, for eight years straight…and it's truly good to see you again Erza." He said as he held out his hand in greeting, Erza shaking it without a moment's hesitation before hugging him.

"Why…why couldn't I believe in you like Simon?" Sho murmured quietly before screaming out and slamming his fist into the ground. "Damn it! What am I supposed to believe in now?"

"…I know this is a lot to take in after so long…but I will say this…over the past eight years I never once forgot about any of you." Erza said as she hugged the blonde boy. "I'm sorry Sho…I'm sorry I was so helpless."

"But that's not the case anymore." Simon commented as he turned back to the others. "I've been waiting for this day, a day when mighty wizards would gather here so we could finally bring down Jellal and end his madness." The shadow mage explained before turning to Lucy and bowing slightly. "And I would like to apologize to you Lucy of Fairy Tail, I didn't plan on attacking you back on the mainland but circumstances forced my hand."

"No it's alright; if anything I should apologize for coming at you with intent to kill."

Simon nodded at her return apology before glaring up at the ceiling. "Now we must go find the Salamander and go after Jellal.

But before anyone could move a telepathic communication sounded off in their minds. "Welcome one and all, to the Tower of Heaven." An arrogant male voice called out.

"That's…Jellal's voice!" Erza shouted as she jumped back up.

"Now that both sides have arranged their playing pieces we can finally begin the Heaven's Game. The rules are simple. I wish to use Erza as a living sacrifice in a ceremony to revive Zeref. In other words, once the door to heaven opens I win. But if you are able to prevent that then it's your win. However, that by itself won't make for a very fun game, so I have brought three more pieces onto my side."

"Three Warriors? Jellal never said anything about them before?" Simon cursed as he stared up at ceiling.

"The only way to reach me is through them…in other words this will be a three-on-eight battle royale. And one final note…there is a chance that the council will be firing their satilite square on this location. Even I don't know how much time is left, so you had best hurry to reach me before they destroy us all…now then let's begin." And with that the voice cut off, leaving everyone in confusion.

"They would really fire the Etherion just to destroy the tower?" Simon questioned incredulously.

"They would." Lucy answered grimly. "The council must maintain the order of the magic world; they cannot ignore things tainted by the darkness."

Erza opened her mouth to reply, but before she could say anything she vanished and reappeared in one of Sho's cards.

"I won't let anyone touch Sis! I'll defeat Jellal myself!" he shouted before running off before anyone could stop him.

"Stop! You can't defeat him by yourself!" Simon shouted as he and Gray ran after Sho.

Juvia was about to run after her darling as well, but was stopped when Lucy placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Wait. Simon and Gray can handle tracking down Sho. If the Etherion is being prepared to fire on this place then we need to defeat Jellal as fast as possible. We can't afford to as one group right now."

Juvia opened her mouth to argue but no words came out. Her love rival did have a point, and while she would have much rather been with her darling Gray she did feel bad about what she had done to the blonde mage in the past. "…Very well then, Juvia will search with you."

The two girls continued to race through the tower until they ended up in what appeared to be a massive empty drainage room, massive tubes leading higher up into the tower.

"Its strange that we haven't meet Natsu yet…I wonder if he engaged one of those three warriors." Lucy thought out loud.

"Juvia thinks that is likely, if his is anything like Gajeel then he would go after a fight first and foremost."

The conversation stopped at that however, as their ears were assaulted by the screeching noise of a lacrima guitar.

"That's annoying." Lucy declared as she covered her ears.

"…Juvia quite likes it." The rain woman declared, Lucy shrugging her shoulders in response.

The two mages waited while a strange looking man with longer hair than either girl put together walked down the middle tube, the guitar in his hands and his tongue hanging out of his mouth as he whipped his hair around and around.

"Hell yeah!" the man shouted as he finally finished. "This is a concert from hell! I'm with the Death's Head order assassin guild!"

"I take it you're one of the warriors Jellal spoke of then?" Juvia questioned, completely undisturbed by the man's strange attitude.

"That's right, I'm Vidaldus Taka, one of the Trinity Ravens." The man declared before shooting out his hair in order to attack, Lucy dodging out of the way while Juvia simply allowed it to pass right through her.

" **Water Lock!"**  Juvia quietly chanted, water forming a orb around the man, trapping him with the same spell that had once trapped Lucy. But unlike with Lucy the man was somehow able to absorb all the water, his hair gleaming in the light as the magic vanished.

"Heh…got to admit you two are real babes!" Vidaldus declared as he studied Lucy and Juvia, both women shivering as he did so. "Eeny, meeny,miny,moe..Catch a girl by the toe…" He said as he finished, pointing at Juvia and laughing to himself. "It's decided! You're the succubus for today!" the assassin declared before playing his guitar again. " **Rock of Succubus!** " he shouted, purple magic shooting out of his guitar and wrapping around the water mage who started to scream in pain.

"Stop it! Stay out of my head!" She screamed as the magic continued to wrap around her and created a wall of smoke.

"Juvia!" Lucy shouted, trying to determine what was happening, but whatever the smoke was she couldn't see through it.

But inevitably the smoke cleared, and Lucy was surprised to see Juvia now dressed differently with skin just as white as Vidaldus.

"You're my slave now water woman."

"Hell! Hell! Hell! I'm gonna show you the greatest, and the worst, of hell!" Juvia shouted as she screamed like a wounded animal.

"…what did you do to Juvia Assassin?" Lucy questioned as she warily watched her former comrade, her bow drawn and at the ready.

"I turned her into a succubus slave of course!" Vidaldus screamed as he started to riff on his guitar again, Juvia yelling loudly in response. "But since the game wouldn't be fun if I turned you both into slaves so I guess I'll just enjoy a cat fight between two chicks!"

"I see…then all I have to do is destroy you to release her?" Lucy clarified, a pale white arrow appearing on her bow as she drew back the string.

"You can try…now get her succubus!" Vidaldus screamed out as he played his guitar, Juvia turing into water and rushing Lucy as he did so.

Lucy quicly ducked under the deluge of water, releasing but not firing her bow. She could attack Juvia, her arrows allowing her to directly attack her opponent's nervous system, but she couldn't bring herself to attack a comrade. Even if that comrade was currently trying to send her flying through the air.

" **Water Slicer!** " Juvia shouted, sending a blade of water flying out directly at Lucy who wasn't quite fast enough to dodge around the attack, a thin red line appearing on her arm where the blade struck.

Lucy grimaced as the pain coursed through her body. She could feel Nyneve pushing against her consciousness, wanting to be summoned and show her opponent the true wrath of the water, but once again Lucy couldn't help but hesitate. Nyneve already likely held a grudge for what happened back during Phantom and wouldn't hold back against the Rain woman.

_But what do I do then?_ Lucy thought desperately as Juvia once again washed over her, clearly trying to drown her. It was while Lucy was thinking desperately for a way to win that she could hear a voice in her head.

" _Lucy…Lucy…this thing…it isn't Juvia. Juvia doesn't want to hurt her friend. Is it…presumptuous of me to call us friends?_ Juvia's voice echoed in her head.  _I know that you're my love rival, but Juvia has come to love all of Fairy Tail! It seems so full of warmth…so full of love. Even when the rain is falling you are always there for each other. I never knew that someone could smile so much in a guild."_

_Juvia…_ Lucy thought in sadness, the water mages emotions traveling though their brief link. She could feel the rain woman's regret and sorrow at being controlled.

_"Juvia was so close to being friends with everyone…but now…I guess Juvia really does bring misfortune wherever she goes."_

_I can feel her tears even in all this water._

Lucy was ejected from the water mage after that, the water mage rematerializing in the center of the room with a blade of water instead of an arm.

"This is the end!" She screamed as Lucy rose to her feet.

"You…don't need to worry Juvia…" she started, the water mage freezing at her words. "If Fairy Tail could accept someone like me…then they won't have a…problem with someone who cries for their friends." She declared, surprised to see tears forming in her controlled friends eyes.

"Heh, what a touching moment…finish her off already Juvia!" Vidaldus commanded, Juvia instantly responding by becoming a rapidly swirling mass of water.

Lucy knew what she had to do now, but she wasn't sure if Juvia could respond in kind to her feelings.  _Oh this is going to hurt._ Lucy thought grimly as she readied herself for Juvia's charge and right at the last moment slammed her right hand into the chaotic waters. Almost instantly pain raced up her arm as the mass of water tore at her skin and popped her arm out of her socket, but Lucy had accomplished her goal, she had stopped Juvia.

" _Lucy! What are you doing? You must get out of the way!"_ Lucy could hear the water mage screaming in her head but still she didn't remove her arm from the mass of water.

_Juvia…I don't know if you can hear me but I need to try…I trust you, with my life if needed._ Lucy thought, feeling Juvia's shock at her admission.  _Now…I have to ask you to trust me...please, I need your help._

_"Of course Lucy…I trust you!"_ The water mage shouted in happiness, giving Lucy the access she needed for the spell to work. It was then that the magic of the two mages began to meld together, both girls feeling their magic, their very souls, fusing together for the briefest of moments as their magic combined .

Vidaldus watched in shock as both Juvia and Lucy began to glow with a bright blue white, like they were being illuminated from the inside. The light grew bright and brighter, focusing into Lucy's hand before Juvia herself reformed her body, her hand in Lucy's own and the glow only growing in response. "What the hell? What did that bitch do?"

The two mages now stood in a maelstrom of water, both smiling at each other before turning to glare at the assassin, their hands still clenched together as they pointed at the man.

" **Unison Raid: Heaven's Stream!** " Lucy shouted, the blue glow growing to its brightest point before unleashing the wrath of the raging sea at the rocker, who was promptly swallowed up by the raging waves. Juvia couldn't help but pant heavily, in awe as she watched the massive amounts of water fade away, leaving the bastard who had taken control of her unconscious on the floor. She couldn't believe it, not only did Lucy manage to pull her out of the man's control but she had even managed to use Juvia's own magic for an attack, something Juvia knew was called a Unison Raid and was considered by many to be something impossible.

"Are you ok Juvia?" she heard the blonde mage ask in concern.

"Y-yes…Juvia is…actually Juvia could use a break." The water mage admitted as she collapsed onto the floor.

"I see…" Lucy murmured as she looked up the tube the assassin had come from. "Then you should head back down to the bottom of the tower."

"Huh?"

"Well…it's just that I have strength to spare after that, and I'm concerned about the others." Lucy admitted bashfully as she started to make her way over to one of the pipes. "If you cannot fight anymore then the best option for you would be to return to the base of the tower and secure our escape route."

"I see…Juvia shall do so then. I will wish for your safety Lucy. Please be careful."

"Of course I will, but thank you." Lucy said as she nodded and started to climb up the path the assassin had come from, her legs vanishing into the tunnel.

Juvia waited until the person had completely disappeared before sighing and allowing the tension to flow out of her body. She had tried to hide it from the elemental mage but she couldn't help but feel somewhat terrified when faced with the innocent girl.

She had felt it…while they had been performing their unison raid their souls had connected in a way that Juvia hadn't thought possible. She had seen inside the girl's soul and had been absolutely terrified from what she had seen. She could feel an immense beast sleeping in the girl's body, a beast of rage and fury held chained and controlled only barely by a cold and cruel personality.

But even still…Juvia could feel the faintest warmth around her, like a flame that was trying its hardest not to go out. And it had been that flame that had called out to Juvia's soul and freed her from the control of the assassin mage.

"Juvia only hopes that the flame of her soul will be enough to survive the darkness of this tower."

* * *

Lucy moved through the tower at a steady pace, her right arm throbbing in pain with each step she took. She had used up more energy than she was willing to admit using a unison raid with someone who wasn't that close with her. She had to force the magic to meld properly and even that was exceedingly difficult.

But now she was making her way up the tower, to the top where she could feel two immense magical forces clashing.

_It's likely Erza and this Jellal character. Their battle must have already started. I have to hurry!_ Lucy thought as she fought off her panic, fearing that once again she would be too late and unable to help her friends.

But Lucy's slow trek up the tower was interrupted when she happened to find Simon, who was badly hurt and resting against a window with a look of defeat on his face.

"Simon? What are you doing here? I thought everyone evacuated?"

"Lucy?" Simon clarified before chuckling. "I see…if the Salamander wasn't willing to leave then it makes sense that you wouldn't either. But at least now we won't face our end alone right?"

"What do you mean?"

"The Etherion is only seconds away from firing. There's no time to stop Erza and the Salamander nor can we escape outside of its range." The man declared as the world outside was covered in light."

"I see…I suppose I at the very least will get to see my mom again then." Lucy murmured as she closed her eyes and allowed the light to wash over her, a roar beyond anything she had ever heard pounding against her skull.  _Huh…so this is what dying is like…it's louder than I would've liked._

But contrary to what Lucy thought her world didn't end, instead the light faded and she now found herself standing in a tower of pure lacrima, a tower comprised entirely of Ethernano.

"What has…we're still alive? How?" Simon questioned out loud as he stared in shock at their surroundings.

"I'm not sure, I would guess that the tower somehow managed to absorb the magical energy of the Etherion and convert it." Lucy replied, trying to keep her dragon slayer instincts under control despite the fact that she was surrounded by such delicious looking Ethernano.

"Then…if we survived…"Simon started.

"Then it means that Natsu, Erza, and Jellal have as well." Lucy finished, nervous over the fact that she could no longer detect the magical energy of Erza or Natsu. The immense amount of Ethernano overriding her senses.

"We have to get up there! Erza and the Salamander will need our help! If this is the true form of the Tower of Heaven then that means that Jellal is ready to sacrifice Erza!"

"Your right, we have to hurry!" Lucy agreed as the two started to climb up the massive lacrima crystals.

Even with her still crippled right arm and the fact that the tower was shaking from impacts the two eventually found their way to the top of the tower and were greeted with a horrifying sight.

They could see Natsu, beaten down and barely able to stand with Erza standing right in front of him with her arms outstretched ready to intercept an absolutely terrifying spell of strange darkness gathered above a blue haired mans hands. A spell that seemed to be drawing light into it.

_There's no time!_ Lucy thought in a panic, a thought that she was certain her iron jawed comrade was thinking at the same time.

" **Heavenly body magic:…Altairis!** " the blue haired man that Lucy could only assume was Jellal shouted before sending the sphere of darkness barreling towards her two teammates.

Lucy didn't think, she didn't have time for that, and instead poured all the magic she could into her legs and into her still working arm before launching forward at speeds she had never reached before. The world seemed to slow down around her as she landed in front of Erza, a shocked look on the scarlet haired mages face, and held out her left arm in an attempt to create a barrier.

But even before the sphere struck her hastily constructed defense Lucy knew it wasn't going to be enough, her already drained magical supplies not nearly enough to block such a powerful spell. And sure enough the barrier gave out after holding it back of a brief second, the orb of darkness hitting her open left palm with such force that her whole body went numb from the shock.

And then it was over, the sphere vanishing in an explosion of smoke and Ethernano. Lucy staggered backwards, trying desperately to remain conscious through the pain, before looking down at the damage.

And to her immense confusion she couldn't tell how much damage had been done to her hand, as there wasn't a hand there anymore to inspect.

"Oh…that…hurt." Lucy managed to stutter as her legs finally gave out on her and causing her to collapse backwards onto the crystal ground.

"L…Lucy?" She could hear Erza confirm breathlessly, clearly still confused about the situation.

But Natsu was much quicker on the uptake. "LUCY!" He shouted as he rushed to her side, Erza and Simon following a few seconds behind.

"Oh? So there were still pests scurrying about my tower?" Jellal taunted as he crossed his arms and chuckled to himself.

"Lucy…oh god Lucy…why?" Erza pleaded as she inspected the damage along with Lucy. The spell had completely eradicated most of her left arm which now ended around her elbow. There was no blood, her Weave going into an emergency activation and using up nearly all of the remaining drops of magic she had in order to stop close up the wounds, but the damage was done.

"I just…I just wanted to protect my family…I…I couldn't do that before and…I was terrified of loosing you all again." Lucy started to murmur to the ghosts that were fading in and out of existence around her. Her mind slipping into a brief insanity due to pain.

"Humph, what a foolish girl. At the end of the day your sacrifice won't mean a single thing wretch." Jellal continued to taunt, his magical levels rising as he prepared to attack.

"Shut up!" Natsu screamed as he charged forward and smacked the man in the face, sending him flying backwards with surprising force.

"N-Natsu…"Lucy quietly murmured as she watched in shock as Natsu broke off a piece of the Ethernano and bit into it, his body glowing blue in response. "You can't Natsu…that's poison to anyone but a chaos slayer."

And just like she expected the blue fluid of pure magic escaped from the fire dragon slayers mouth as his body started to reject the magical energy, veins appearing all over his body as the wild magic coursed through his system.

"Natsu! You can't eat that! IT has more than just fire in it!" Erza warned louder as she bandaged Lucy's stub, tears falling from her right eye all the while.

But just when it looked like Natsu was at his end the blue energy around his body began to twist into flames, flames in the shape of a roaring dragon.

_H-he actually did it…?_ Lucy questioned incredulously as her vision began to swim, dizziness threatening to pull her into unconsciousness. But at the same time she could look away from the somehow beautiful sight of Natsu covered in brilliant flames, the skin around his eyes looking almost like scales.

And before anyone could figure out what he had done Natsu had launched off like a rocket, striking Jellal on the chin and knocking him into the air.

"It's because of you! You've hurt my partner and made Erza cry. I made a promise! I will take them back with me!" Natsu screamed as Jellal used his magic to fly through the sky.

"Impudent boy! You'll never catch me at these speeds." Jellal mocked, but clearly underestimated the power of a dragon slayer boosted by Ethernano, as Natsu was on him in a second and delivering a powerful punch directly to his gut.

"Damn you! I won't be defeated here!" Jellal screamed as he knocked away Natsu and swiped his hands though the air and formed the Abyss Break glyph. "I will create a world of freedom! I am the chosen one! Together Zeref and I will create a land of true freedom!"

"Stop Jellal! You would destroy the tower that you spent so many years to create?" Erza called out, placing her body in between the insane blue haired mage and her injured teammate, who was beginning to silently cry as she looked down at what remained of her arm.

"I'll just create another in half the time! Zeref's time will come!" he declared, but before he could cast the spell his eyes widened in pain and his concentration faltered, the spell rune vanishing like smoke as he began to fall back down.

And that was just the opportunity that Natsu would need, as the fire dragon slayer was flying up at the man with surprising speed. "You'll never know true freedom so long as you let that ghost constrain you!" Natsu shouted as his flames formed the shape of a dragon around him. "Free yourself Jellal!"

And with that final line and a roar of pure rage Natsu stuck the mage in the face, sending him careening into the floor with enough force to knock him unconscious.

Lucy and Erza watched as Natsu slowly stood from the crater that had formed from his landing, the pink haired slayer turning around to smile at them for a brief second before beginning to collapse.

"Natsu!" Erza shouted as she rushed forward and caught the slayer before he could land face first on the crystal floor. Smiling as she held him close. "You truly are amazing." She commented with a heartfelt smile.

"Is it…is it over?" Lucy managed to force out as she looked at the spot where Jellal had landed, pain still shooting up the mangled remains of her arm.

"Yes, it appears so." Simon confirmed from behind her, where he was currently supporting her. "Thank you Lucy of Fairy Tail. If that attack had hit Erza then…"

"I-Its ok...I-I wanted to save my family." Lucy managed to force out in between gasps.

"Lucy…how could you do that?" Erza questioned as she walked back over to the place where Lucy was resting, an absolutely miserable expression on her face as she stared down at Lucy's left side.

"Is it…really that surprising?" Lucy questioned as she sat up slightly. "You were willing to do the same for Natsu right? I just didn't want to see either of you hurt."

Lucy could see Erza struggling to accept her reasoning, but whatever she was going to say was lost when the tower below them began to glow and pillars of pure energy shot through the ground.

"What's happening?" Simon questioned as he lifted Lucy over his shoulder.

"The tower…all the Ethernano is starting to break free." Lucy explained, her knowledge of Ethernano greater than most.

"Then we need to leave, the others should be still outside."Erza added as she lifted Natsu over her shoulder, the two beginning to run through the exploding tower.

But as they continued Lucy knew what was happening, and that there was no way they could get out of the range of the explosion in time.

_But how do we stop a…a mass of Ethernano?_ Lucy started to question, before arriving at an answer that should have been obvious but her pain addled mind had forgotten.

Once again Lucy had a choice to make, a choice that wasn't really all that much of a choice when it came down to it.

Lucy waited for Simon to stop, likely trying to figure out where to go, before pushing away from the massive man.

"Lucy? What's wrong?" Erza called out as she turned around with a confused look on her face.

"…We can't escape at this rate. The tower will still explode and take us all down with it. The only choice…is to try to contain the blast."

"But how…" Simon started to ask as the winds picked up around them before a new figure was standing by Lucy's side. A brown haired man wearing furs and smiling sadly at her.

"It's actually simple…I'm going to eat the tower." Lucy explained as she cut off the feeling of pain in her body, wanting to enjoy her last few minutes of clarity.

"That's insane Lucy! I will stop it. I can…"Erza started to refute but was cut off when a sphere of wind encased her and Simon.

"I'm sorry Erza. But if I have the choice to sacrifice myself for those who stand in the light I can't waste it." Lucy explained with a sad smile before looking at the still unconscious Natsu. "Erza…can you tell the others that I'm truly grateful for everything they did for me? That I had never expected to be so…accepted for what I've done and that Fairy Tail made me feel like I could truly live again? I would appreciate it."

"Damn it Lucy! Don't…don't do this!" Erza screamed as she pounded against the wind barrier but to no avail, Anu's magical strength far greater than her weakened state.

But to everyone's surprise it was then that the pink haired slayer chose to wake up. Natsu's eyes slowly opening to stare in confusion at Lucy.

"…Luce…? What's…?"

"Natsu…I'm sorry." Lucy half cried as she stood on the other side of the barrier, the tower beginning to shake more and more as it drew closer to blowing. "Thank you for bringing me to my home. I was….happy." she admitted as she placed her hand on the barrier, Natsu finally realizing what was happening and slamming his fists against the wind along with Erza.

"Wait Luce…Stop…stop Luce!"

"But if someone as dark as me can save all of you…so that you all can return to the place you belong…then I will gladly give myself…goodbye Natsu… and thank you."

"LUCY, DAMN IT LUCYY-…!"Natsu started to scream but was cut off when the wind picked up around them, carrying them through one of the holes in the wall and out to sea.

"…Are you certain about this Lucy?" Anu asked as he turned back to his master with a bitter expression on his face.

"Yes, please carry all those who remain inside the tower to safety."

"…All of them?" Anu reconfirmed confusing Lucy for a brief second before she followed his gaze to the crater that stood behind them.

"…Yes Anu, all of them." Lucy confirmed, watching as another twister rose out of the crater that Jellal had been pounded into and disappeared into the sky.

"Lucy, you understand that if you do this…"

"I won't survive, I know. It was a miracle that I lived through Phantom to beginning with but if I force the seal open here and now there won't be a second chance." Lucy confirmed before curtsying to her Elemental. "Thank you Anu, our time together was brief but I enjoyed it immensely. Please give my regards to the others if you would."

"Gladly…it has been an honor to serve you Lucy of Fairy Tail." Anu returned with a bow before vanishing in a green glow, leaving Lucy alone in the collapsing tower.

"Well everyone…it looks like I'll be joining you sooner than I expected…I'm sorry." And with her final goodbyes done Lucy took began to take a deep breath, the deepest breath she had ever taken in her life, her magically infused lungs drawing every ounce of Ethernano in her surroundings. The rampart energy that had been shooting off in all directions began to bend towards her mouth, the beams of pure blue energy swirling together as they passed her lips.

The pain was immediate and excruciating, like having someone plunging blades into every inch of her skin. But still Lucy did not stop. There were people, loved ones, who were relying on her and she would not fail…not again.

Faster and faster the Ethernano poured into her mouth, her own body beginning to glow with the same bright blue light that made up her surroundings as her physical form began to break down. But even still the Elemental wizard did not slow down her consumption of the raw magic. There was no longer pain in her remaining arm, or anywhere else for that manner, and in fact she was beginning to feel warm and sleepy despite the chaotic energies that were tearing her apart from the inside out.

And when Lucy's vision began to fade to white she couldn't help but smile, knowing that she had finally managed to save the people her hands could reach.

* * *

Natsu watched in horror, tears falling from his eyes, as the Tower of Heaven transformed into a ball of whitish blue magical energy.

Gray, Juvia, and Happy had all been filled in on what had happened and despite hearing the high pitched wailing of his blue partner and the muffled sobs of his rival Natsu couldn't tear his eyes away from the ball of magic.

He had failed her, he had failed his partner. Loke had told him about this but not only could he not keep her from maiming herself in order to protect him now she was willing to sacrifice everything for their lives.

_Damn it…it's just like with Pops…why does everyone important to me vanish?_

But Natsu's mind instantly focused when he noticed a change in the ball of light. It was no longer expanding outwards and was instead beginning to collapse in on itself. But not only that, the magic was taking a shape, a shape that caused Natsu's breath to catch in his throat.

There was no longer a sphere of pure magic racing outward in all directions. No, now a dragon rose out of the water, a dragon of pure light with its head raised to the heavens with fire of blue pouring from its maw.

And then, just as fast as it had come, it was gone. Leaving nothing but waves in its wake. Not even a hint of his blonde partners scent remaining in the air.


	15. Solomon's Child

The first thing that Lucy noticed when she regained consciousness was the fact that she was lying in some kind of fluid, her skin cold against the water that surrounded her.

The very next thing she noticed was that she regained consciousness at all, something that most wouldn't consider strange but most didn't try to consume an entire tower of Ethernano at one time while said tower was seconds away from exploding.

"Wha…what happened?" Lucy groaned as she rose from the water and tried to open her eyes, her eyesight feeling much more sensitive than normal. But as her mind started working again she noticed a few peculiarities. One was that she was able to sit up at all considering she should be in the middle of the ocean. Another was the fact that she could only feel slight ripples in the water where there should be massive waves crashing in to her body.

But all her questions were wiped from her mind the moment her eyesight returned and instead of finding herself in the middle of the ocean she instead was in the middle of a massive city. standing up Lucy couldn't help but feel like she was losing her mind with what she was seeing.

But the city was completely different from anything Lucy had ever seen before, even when comparing it to Crocus. All around her were towers that seemed to stretch into the sky ,farther than even the clouds, that seemed to be constructed out of nothing but gold. Even the smaller buildings that were constructed in between them were impressive pieces of work, the way they were constructed completely eluding Lucy as they appeared to be carved out of a single piece of gold.

 _Is even the road made out of gold…oh wait…there isn't one._ Lucy noticed as she looked at her feet to see that instead of the paved path she expected to see instead there appeared to be nothing but blue sky and a few white clouds blowing across it. Even stranger was that when Lucy tried to test the ground the moment her foot came into contact with the strange surface it rippled like waves on a calm pond. Something that even Lucy could tell was strange.

"Where exactly am I?...did I die? This most certainly isn't the Tower of Heaven so where…" Lucy thought out loud as she continued to examine her surroundings, the pit of her stomach growing colder with each passing second. Not only was the city strange in its construction but Lucy had yet to see another living creature anywhere, not even a bird in the sky. Even Dragon Lucy was unable to detect anything and her subconscious defender seemed strangely muted and sluggish, something Lucy had never experienced before.

It was…like she was standing in the frozen but charred land that had once been both her home and her prison all over again.

"E-Erza? Simon...Natsu? Is anyone there?" Lucy shouted out, but other than her own echo received no answer. "Well it looks like I'm the only person here…but I should probably summon an Elemental just to be safe." She decided as she held out her silver bracer. "Oh ever flowing water, manifest your champion before me. Come forth Nyneve." She chanted, fully expecting her blue haired Elemental to all but pounce on her the moment she appeared.

But contrary to her wishes the water Elemental never showed up and now that she concentrated Lucy couldn't even feel her connection to the elemental plane anymore.

She was truly alone for the first time since she was forced to stand alone in her cell.

With fear slowly creeping through her mind Lucy once again surveyed her surroundings with a much more critical eye. It shouldn't be possible for Lucy to completely lose her connection to the Elemental plane. Even if she was dead, something that was starting to seem more and more plausible, Loke would still be able to show up…or more than likely Anzu would be the one to pick her up but an Elemental would still be able to find her. So if not even the beings that had existed since time began were able to reach her then where exactly had she ended up?

"Well…I guess I should start exploring then. I have to find a way back and let everyone know that I'm still alive." Lucy murmured sadly as she stared down at the place where her left arm had once been. "Although I can't exactly claim to be in once piece anymore."

Lucy had hoped that a thorough examination of the strange city would yield some kind of answer but after going into her third building the uneasy feeling in her stomach only grew worse. There was no sign that anyone had been living in the city at all recently. Everything inside the buildings would suggest that someone had lived there at one time, as there was everything from beds to tables inside, but from what she could tell it seemed like it had been hundreds of years since anything had been used.

And while Lucy would have liked to find some way into the massive golden towers that dotted the landscape she couldn't find a single entry point. It almost made her think that they were some kind of massive naturally occurring structures. But that…that just wasn't possible…was it?

But eventually her search lead her to what she could only assume was the center of town. And what she saw there once again stopped her thoughts in their tracks. In the center of town was what could only be described as a gate of truly massive proportions. It took the shape of a massive circle, so big that it looked to be even bigger than the golden towers that dotted the landscape, and rather than just two actual doors like most gates this one was comprised of lots of different triangular shapes that spiraled into the center, making it look like the inside of the door was somehow spinning inwardly like some kind of illusion. The outside of the gate was decorated elaborately with carvings with all manner of creatures depicted, from dragons to humans and even with creatures she couldn't even identify.

And carved into the very top of the gate was the outline of a human figure, their arms wide open as if accepting all the creatures that had been carved underneath them. But despite the seemingly friendly look of the carving Lucy couldn't help but tremble in fear the moment she saw the gate.

Something deep in her mind was screaming at her to avoid the gate at all costs. Some primal, or perhaps draconic, part of her mind was telling her to keep away at all costs but she couldn't understand why this was.

 _But…I can't just avoid something that might be a way home no matter how terrified I am of it._ Lucy eventually convinced herself as she slowly made her way up the steps that lead to the massive gate. But contrary to what her instincts were telling her there was no monster waiting for her…but that didn't mean that there wasn't anything up in front of the gate.

Standing in front of the gate was what looked like a human outline cut directly from the night sky. A hole in the world that lead to the farthest ends of creation.

And to her continued shock the hole in the world actually spoke. "Hoh? I never would have expected one of the children to have arrived here so soon after their birth. Who would have thought that you would not only have the strength to make it here but the will as well?" A voice that seemed to echo from every inch of Lucy's surroundings commented. A voice that sounded like both a man and a woman at the same time, a voice that was neither young nor old.

"Who are you?" Lucy eventually asked, not really sure what to make of the situation but unable to do anything but move forward with a conversation.

The hole finally seemed to realize that Lucy was talking to it, chuckling lightly before waving lightly at her. "Oh I apologize; I tend to lose myself in thoughts when I'm not careful, I've been alone for a long time after all. I have no name in this form of mine but you may call me the Guardian of Solomon's Gate." The hole introduced itself.

"Oh…well, it's nice to meet you Guardian." Lucy replied with a curtsy, not quite sure what level of courtesy she should be using with this being and thus took the safer option.

"Is that how women greet each other in the current era? How very interesting." The Guardian commented before gesturing to the massive gate behind it. "But we lack the time to talk about how the world has changed. I must inform you of what exists beyond this…wait." The Guardian started to say before seeming to realize something, the human shaped hole walking forward until it was right in front of Lucy. "Did you…die to get here?"

"U-ummm…maybe? I'm not really sure." Lucy admitted as a ringing noise started to echo in her head.

"Hmmm…I see…you've lead quite the difficult life haven't you Lucy." The Guardian murmured as it leaned against nothing, seemingly deep in thought. "…The Tower of Heaven huh…quite the pretentious name...ah I see, that much ethernano consumed at once would work as a catalyst for your journey here…well isn't this interesting." The Guardian finished with a sigh.

"Is something wrong?"

"Oh plenty of things but at the moment you are chief among them." The Guardian replied in an almost sad tone as it turned its head to the sky. "…you have placed me I a difficult position child. On the one hand you managed to make it to this place, an accomplishment not achieved in hundreds of years. But on the other hand your body was broken down by the sheer power you tried to contain and you yourself did not seek out this gate which is necessary in order to move beyond it."

"I have a question." Lucy eventually asked with a raised hand, the Guardian motioning for her to continue. "You said that my body was broken down right? Then what am I right now then?"

"I suppose you could say you're an astral projection, a frozen image of yourself moments before your end."

"I see…then couldn't you just let me move on to the afterlife then?"

For a moment the air seemed to chill slightly, and while it had no actual facial features Lucy was certain that the Guardian was staring at her with a somewhat angry expression. "…Hoh? And why would you want to do that?"

"W-well…I mean, I did die right?"

"To be precise your body was broken down by the ethernano with your soul seconds away from moving on yes."

"Then why stop me from moving on? I was able to protect Natsu and everyone and now Fairy Tail doesn't have to suffer anymore because of me. Isn't that for the best?" Lucy explained in a tone like her conclusion was obvious, the Guardian sighing again as she finished.

"I see…the damage I saw in your mind was worse than I thought…even before I decide what to do I must…correct your thoughts."

"What do you mean?"

"Lucy of Fairy Tail; do you truly believe that no one cares what happens to you? That your life is something you should try to trade for the lives of others without a second thought?"

"Of course." Lucy replied without a second of hesitation. "I am a being that has existed only in the darkness. If I can trade my existence for someone who has what I lacked why would I hesitate?"

"I see…then before I decide what to do with your soul there is something I want to show you. A glimpse into a time that could be." The Guardian declared in a voice full of authority before gesturing to the gate behind them.

A second passed in which nothing happened, but eventually the massive gate started to open. A hole opening up in its center as each of the spiraling triangular pieces moving away to reveal a blinding light that Lucy had to shut her eyes in order to avoid blinding herself.

And then the light was gone, and when Lucy opened her eyes she found that not only was the light gone but so was the city itself. Instead Lucy now found herself floating in a sea of stars alongside the Guardian, their outline now completely white as opposed to filled with stars.

"Where…?" Lucy started to ask as she stared at their surroundings in awe.

"A space in between spaces, a place that exists in both all places and no places at once." The Guardian explained cryptically as they swept their hand across their chest, causing a hole to open up in space in front of them. But rather than another simple hole in the world instead Lucy could see a city that looked too familiar for her to mistake.

The Guardian had opened a hole in reality to show Lucy Magnolia, and more specifically a hill behind Fairy Hills on a rainy day.

"Is that Fairy Tail?" Lucy tried to confirm, her eyes picking up on figures dressed in black slowly encircling a single point on the hill, the rain giving the whole scene a much more somber mood.

"Indeed it is. This is a scene from another reality beyond your own. A reality in which you died in the same manner that you did, falling at the Tower of Heaven." The Guardian explained as they too moved to the side of the hole to gaze at the surreal scene. "If you truly believe that your death will not affect your guild mates then watch and see how others have suffered after losing a different you."

Lucy couldn't help but frown as Master Makarov walked forward to stand in front of a small unmarked grave, his back to the other members and his shoulders shacking slightly as he came to a stop and cleared his throat.

"No one here could claim that Lucy led a comfortable life." The Wizard Saint started to say in a low and husky voice. "But despite having a childhood filled with nothing but pain she still managed to find her way into our family and leave her mark on each and every one of us."

"She many not have been the brightest or most…easy to talk to of children, but she still tried her hardest to keep our family safe when those who sought to manipulate her attacked. She opened her heart to us, clearly afraid that we would reject her, and shed tears when we forgave her for her past."

"But when she and her team went to relax after everything that happened Lucy gave her life to save her teammates. A noble sacrifice but one that left a jagged wound in our hearts." The Master continued as his shoulders started to shake even more. "What's more because of what she had suffered in her life we, her family, are unable to properly mourn her death. Her existence something that can never be told to the public at large."

Master Makarov looked up then, not looking directly at Lucy and the Guardian but still revealing his tear streaked face for the two of them to see. "But even still we will always remember and honor our fallen family. Even if the world at large will never know what she has done for us we will always keep her in our hearts and minds, a constant reminder that even in our darkest moments there is always a way back into the light…" The Master trailed off then, his grief apparently too much to handle.

Lucy watched with a strange pain in her chest as her guild mates broke out into tears. She could see Mira being held by her brother, the silver haired barmaids shoulders shaking as she sobbed. She could see Levy crying loudly, her two teammates placing their hands on her shoulders in comfort.

Slowly but surely most of the members of Fairy Tail left the lonely hill and made their way back to the guild hall. But four figures remained standing in front of the grave, their shoulders shaking even worse as they all but glared at Lucy's grave.

They were her teammates; Gray, Erza, Happy, and Natsu. All standing silently above her grave.

For a brief time none of them spoke, the only sign that time was still moving forward being their shaking bodies and still continuing fall of the rain, but eventually Erza collapsed in front of her grave, a single hand grasping the stone so hard that Lucy could almost hear the stone cracking under her grip.

"Lucy…I-I'm…I'm so sorry! You were only dragged into the tower because of me. I…I should have been the one to save you in that accursed place…I'm so…so sorry Lucy!" She cried out as hands covered her eyes.

Lucy covered her mouth as she watched one of the strongest women she knew break down, Gray and Happy following suit.

But Natsu remained standing, his hands clenched to his side and his jaw clenched. "I can't believe you guys! Luce cant be dead! She has…she has to still be out there somewhere waiting for us to find her!"

Almost instantly Gray swung around and slammed his fist into the Natsu's face, the fire dragon slayer skidding backwards from the unexpected impact. "Damn it Natsu stop! We searched the spot where the tower was for days before looking along the coast…she's gone damn it so just…stop it." Gray shouted at first before his voice fell away and his head tilted down, tears now falling from his eyes.

Natsu didn't return the blow as Lucy half expected him to do but he still looked furious. "She cant be…I know that she cant be! She's too strong to…"

"Natsu…" Happy murmured as the blue cat clung to his pant leg, massive tears of his own falling from his face. "We have to face it…Lucy's gone…she's…" But he couldn't finish his sentence before breaking out into sobs.

Lucy could see Natsu tense for a brief second before kneeling down and scooping up his partner, Happy throwing his paws around his neck as he did so. "..Damn it…why…why do the people close to me keep disappearing…why couldn't I keep her safe?...Luce…LUCE!" Natsu screamed out so loud that it practically shook the unmarked grave that stood before him before he too succumbed to his sorrow.

And all the while Lucy was forced to watch, a painful sadness twisting in her gut as she witnessed her team break down in front of her. It felt like she was looking at her mother's unmoving body all over again.

_I hurt them…it's all because of me…_

"No matter what reason one has for their death there is always pain left behind…no matter how dark the departed was." The Guardian murmured as Lucy wrapped her arms around her chest and collapsed. Tears of her own leaking from the corners of her eyes.

"Everyone…I'm so…so sorry. I didn't think that…that you would…"

"Well then shall we go? I must deliver you to the afterlife after all." The Guardian announced as they swiped their hand through the air, a golden archway opening in front of them, the hole that displayed her funeral disappearing in response.

"W-wait!" Lucy cried out as she turned around and jumped up, trying to grab the Guardian's shoulder ,feeling somewhat surprised when it turned out that the hole in the world that represented them was actually solid. "Please…I…"

The Guardian turned the space where its head would be to stare back at Lucy. "You're confusing me child. I thought you wanted to simply move on?"

"I…I want to go back…please." Lucy quietly asked, begging in a way she hadn't since her final moments with Tiamat. "I don't…I don't want my family to suffer because of me…please."

Lucy couldn't really see for sure, but she could somehow feel that the Guardian was smiling at her as they placed their hands on either side of her cheeks. "And that is what you need. Always remember that no matter how dark or how cruel the world seems there will always be those who will stand by you. Regardless of what fate awaits you." The Guardian declared as Lucy's body started to glow with a warm light. "Despite how many questions I have for you I suppose I will simply have to wait until the next time you stand before the gate. Although I suppose I can give you a parting gift of undoing some of the damage the Heartfilia's inflicted on you."

Lucy could almost feel her body beginning to float away, the Guardian's outline becoming fainter and fainter.

"Until next time, Lucy of Fairy Tail, I simply cannot wait until you are ready to accept the truth beyond Solomon's Gate."

* * *

Lucy groaned as she pulled her head out of the sand, the crashing of the waves somehow louder than it should be. Her chest felt like someone had thrown her down a mountain side accompanied by an entire landslide. But surprisingly her arms felt perfectly fine in comparison.

 _Wait...arms? Didn't I lose one?_ Lucy eventually managed to think as she cracked her eyes open to see her left hand lying just off to her side, her fingers flexing in response to her commands.

"What happened?" Lucy murmured as she sat up to look blankly out over the beach she was sitting on, a beach just to the south of Akane Beach based off of the fact that she could see some towers in the distance. She remembered being attacked in the casino…Erza and Happy being taken…going to the Tower of Heaven…

And then it all came back to her, the fights, and the tower getting hit by the Etherion, sacrificing her left arm in an attempt to keep Natsu and Erza safe…and her death and strange visit to the empty city.

"I'm still alive? But how…Natsu! Everyone! They're still think I'm dead!" Lucy realized as she tried to stand back up, her legs not quite reacting as fast as her mind and tripping over themselves as she attempted to stand.

But Lucy didn't care about how gracefully she stood up or the few beachgoers that stared at her strangely due to her ripped dress as she sprinted past them. She only cared about finding her family. That was the only thing in her panicked addled mind.

At the speed she was going it didn't take her long to reach the beach resort that they had been enjoying themselves at only days ago. But the moment she entered the resort proper the amount of people around drastically increased, each and every one staring at her strangely as she scanned the crowd in a panic.

 _Everyone…where are you?_ Lucy thought as she scanned the crowd in a desperate hope of seeing her family. And while she didn't directly see anyone she knew she did manage to make out the forms of a large group of Fiorian Military members in the distance in a circle. And while Lucy had no real proof of what she was feeling she was drawn to the group slowly and steadily.

And sure enough, when one of the men moved to the side she could see a flash of scarlet along with a distinctive armor that Lucy could never forget. It was Erza talking to the soldiers with an absolutely miserable expression on her face, her eyes clearly bloodshot and her skin paler than Lucy remembered her being.

Lucy didn't even realize that her feet were steadily carrying her forward one step at a time until she was only a few feet from the authoritative figures. She barely noticed when Erza turned to look in her direction, the older mages eyes widening instantly along with her mouth falling open. She wasn't even aware when her legs started to carry her forward even faster.

All she noticed was the pain in her chest, a pain she was desperate to relive.

"Erza!" She cried out as she barreled into the older mages chest, tears falling from her eyes as she wrapped her arms around Erza's stomach. The scarlet haired mage was too shocked at first to do much of anything but gape at Lucy's sobbing form. But to her credit the shock only lasted for a brief second before she too wrapped her own bandaged arms around the crying blonde and all but crushed her into her chest.

"Oh god Lucy…you're alright. Thank the gods your alright! I'm so sorry! This was all…" But the rest of Erza's apology was lost into her own happy sobs, tears of her own falling from both eyes and landing on top of Lucy's head. The two mages lost in their own little world as they assured themselves that the other was real.

Eventually the two girls pulled away from each other and Erza apologized to and dismissed the surrounding men, informing Lucy that they had been gathered in order to organize a search party for Lucy out at sea.

"We tried to find you after the tower vanished but eventually Juvia ran out of magic and we were forced to return to shore. Against Natsu's wishes I might add. But he himself was beginning to suffer the after effects of eating the ethernano and quickly passed out. Happy, Gray and I were preparing to organize a search party for you…but to be honest I didn't think…I didn't believe…"

"It's alright Erza, I understand." Lucy replied as Erza pulled her back into a hug. "To be honest I'm not really sure I did survive."

"What do you mean?" The scarlet haired mage questioned, her arms tensing around Lucy.

"It's…hard to explain. I plan to ask the Master about it later but for now I guess I would describe it as someone saved me?"

"…while I don't quite get it this should be something you should tell everyone at once so let us return to the room and inform the others that you've returned."

"Alright…" Lucy agreed before turning and making her way to the hotel, Erza practically glued to her side as she warily watched to crowds for anyone who would dare try to take the blonde from them again. "If you don't mind me asking; what happened to your friends from the tower?"

"Simon and the others? They left in order to explore the world that was kept from them for so long. We gave them a fond farewell while we waited for the military to prepare vessels for our use." Erza explained with a sad smile on her face. "Honestly, those four never stop worrying me." She continued before staring at Lucy with a look she couldn't quite identify. "They kind of remind me of someone else now that I think about it."

"…who?"

"I was telling a joke Lucy." Erza quietly returned with a sigh. "With everything that had happened I forgot that we agreed to start teaching you the joys of laughter. Well then let's begin your first lesson right away. To begin with when someone looks at you with a look similar to the one I just used you can be fairly certain that they are what would normally be defined as "messing with you"."

"I see, that explains a lot of the looks that Gray gives me." Lucy murmured thoughtfully as they made their way to the hotel room, Erza hesitating before opening the door and turning to stare at Lucy again.

"Lucy…I realize that you want to see the others as soon as possible but would you remain out here for a brief time? I don't want the others to have a heart attack like almost did when you tackled me on the beach."

Lucy frowned for a second before nodding. She still wanted to free herself of the newfound pain in her chest and even though she wasn't certain why she knew that seeing her teammates would alleviate the pain. But at the same time she knew that the scarlet haired mage was correct, she would rather keep her teammates from suffering too much shock from the situation.

She was presumed dead only a few hours ago after all.

Erza nodded as well before placing a finger to her lips and quickly slipping through the cracked door, Lucy almost instantly placing her head against the door in order to listen in.

"How is Natsu?" She heard Erza question, her voice muffled and sounding somewhat forced.

"He woke up a few minutes ago saying we needed to get back out there and find Lucy." Happy's sad voice answered, a sharp pain stabbing at Lucy's chest the moment she heard the felines voice.

"…this is bullshit, we shouldn't have…we just left her out there." She heard Gray quietly comment, the sound of a fist striking the wall following only a few seconds later.

 _I guess Gray hasn't given up on me yet like he did in that vision._ Lucy thought as she frowned unintentionally, the annoyance of Dragon Lucy's insistence that it take over in order to prevent any more emotional damage from happening starting to grate against her nerves.

"We had no choice. Juvia simply didn't have the magic to keep us out there any longer and we all had wounds to attend to." Erza refuted quickly, Gray only responding with a frustrated snort.

There was silence in the room for a time as each of them digested Erza's words, but eventually Happy asked an obvious question. "So did you get some boats Erza? Natsu said to wake him up the moment we were ready to go even if he had to brave another ship."

"…Actually, I determined that the ships would be unnecessary." Erza answered, not fully able to keep her happiness out of her voice.

"What! Why the hell would you do that?" She heard Gray hiss and a chair crash to the ground, likely due to the ice make mage rising to his feet too fast.

"I will show you. Just…try not to lose control." Erza warned before clearing her throat loudly.

 _I guess that that's my cue? Or did she just need to clear her throat?_ Lucy tried to decide before reaching the conclusion that I was in fact the former thought that was correct.

Slowly and carefully, Lucy opened the door and stepped into the hotel room. Almost instantly the three conscious mages in the room turned to look at the intruder, Gray and Happy with looks of surprise while Erza simply smiled warmly. Just like she had expected Lucy watched as both Gray's and Happy's faces morphed from suspicion into outright shock. Gray seemed to be choking on his words as strange half cries kept leaking from his mouth. While Happy simply stared wide eyed and unblinking, like he was afraid that if he closed his eyes even for a second she would vanish.

And with almost no experience with comforting shell shocked friends Lucy did the only thing she could think of, she smiled and waved at the two utterly confused mages. "Hello Gray, Happy, I'm sorry for being late."

And those were the words that broke the strange spell that had been cast over the room. Happy reacted first, his magical wings appearing on his back at the same time he launched himself into the air, becoming nothing more than a blue blur. A millisecond later Lucy could feel something warm and fuzzy hit her chest at full force, knocking her backwards and through the now open door.

"Lushi! Lushi, Lushi…"Happy blubbered out like a mantra as he rubbed his face into her chest, his paws clinging to her for dear life.

Gray was only a few seconds behind the blue cat, pulling Lucy back up and grinning warmly at her while he hugged her from the side. "Damn it Lucy, you really gave us a scare with that disappearing act of yours. How did you manage to get back to shore?"

"To be honest I'm not really sure, I just woke up on the beach an hour or so ago." Lucy admitted with a confused and frustrated look on her face. How did the Guardian manage to get her back to the shore from that strange city? And for that matter what was that strange place?

"Who cares? Lucy's back and that's all that matters!" Happy all but shouted as he flow up and landed on the blondes shoulder and hugged her head, Lucy smiling and tilting her head into the contact.

"Indeed, I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth after all. Our team is back together and that's all that really matters." Erza agreed as she walked up with a smile, a smile that quickly turned into a frown a few seconds later. "But now that we're all together again I have to apologize to each of you for dragging you into such a situation. If one of you would be so willing to strike me as penance I would be grateful." The red haired mage requested as she looked at the ground with a miserable expression.

Both Gray and Happy froze at the thought of hitting the scarlet devil but both still turned to watch Lucy's reaction, knowing full well that the clueless blonde had done so before.

"I am more than willing to do so, but because of your injuries I would suggest that we delay the physical reprimand until you have recovered. But even still I don't think that any of us regret aiding you in your time of need, it is what Fairy Tail did for me only a few weeks ago." Lucy answered after a brief second of thinking, both Gray and Happy sighing in relief.

"I see…while I don't agree with putting of the punishment I will acquiesce this time." Erza eventually relented with a sad smile. "But even still, I think we all learned some valuable lesions on this trip. Even I managed to pick up something."

"Indeed, I myself found out that consuming an entire tower of ethernano is simply too much for my stomach to handle." Lucy commented seriously, feeling slightly confused when the others started laughing in response.

But all four mages froze when they heard painful groaning behind them they all turned to watch Natsu slowly sat up and slowly examined the room, clearly not fully comprehending what was going on around him. "What's going on guys? You're being super loud." Natsu complained as he blinked slowly.

And then he finally seemed to notice Lucy standing amongst his teammates.

Natsu's eyes practically bugged out of his head and a choking noise escaped from his lips as he watched Lucy without blinking. For a brief second he didn't move but when his neurons finally started to fire he tried to jump from the bed but stumbled due to the sheets being tangled around his feet, falling to the floor with an unceremonious grunt.

Lucy couldn't help but smile warmly as a strange new feeling blossomed in her chest, a feeling that Lucy was more than willing to just go along with.

Moving forward with the same speed that Happy had shown only a few seconds ago Lucy all but threw herself at Natsu, wrapping her arms around his neck and enjoying the warmth that naturally came off the fire mages body.

"Natsu…I'm back." Lucy murmured into the pink haired boy's chest, Natsu only freezing up for a second before wrapping his own arms around her.

"Yeah…welcome back." Natsu replied just as quietly.

"Yeah! Team Natsu's back together again! Let's party!" Happy shouted out as he flew around the ceiling, Gray and Erza nodding in agreement instantly.

* * *

To say that the feast that they shared that night was massive was a gross understatement and even with her powers sealed Lucy did manage to retain her draconic appetite. Lucy had enjoyed the meal more than she had thought, even managing to laugh at one of the jokes she noticed, but through it all she couldn't help notice Natsu behaving strangely. Throughout the whole dinner she had noticed him staring at her from time to time with an expression Lucy couldn't really identify. Looking both upset and angry at the same time. But at no point in time did he comment on what was clearly bothering him and in fact barely spoke to her, choosing instead to simply trade insults with Gray.

And now Lucy was standing on the balcony of her room and staring up into the night sky, the multitude of stars reminding her of the strange hole of a person that could have possibly been the reason she was still alive with both her limbs intact.

_I wonder why I thought that gate was so terrifying at first. It's not like the Guardian set off Dragon Lucy or anything…so what exactly happened?_

But Lucy's thoughts were interrupted when she heard the sound of someone scaling the building echoed through the night. Both Lucy and her subconscious mind instantly turned their attention to the side of the balcony to see Natsu trying his hardest to remain stealthy with his scarf wrapped around his head like a ninja's cowl.

"Natsu?" Lucy clarified in confusion, the Dragon Slayer stopping his midnight climb to stare wide eyed at her. "Why are you on the outside of the hotel? You could have come through the door."

"What are you kidding? And brave Erza's rage? Hell no." Natsu scoffed as he joined Lucy on the edge of the balcony staring up at the sky with the same expression that he had worn during the dinner.

Lucy wanted to return her attention to the sky and her previous thoughts, intending to simply enjoy her partners company, but a new completely unwelcome feeling bloomed in her chest. It felt like someone was squeezing a completely unknown organ in the center of her chest, a feeling she wanted desperately to get rid of but had no idea why she was feeling this way.

But thankfully she didn't have to think too long about the strange feeling for too long, as Natsu quickly lost interest in the night sky and turned an angry expression on Lucy. "Luce…what the hell…why did you do all of that back there?"

Lucy's brow scrunched as she tried to figure out what Natsu was talking about. "What did I do? I don't follow."

Lucy couldn't help but flinch at Natsu's deep growl. "You know what! Trying to block that magic and losing your arm…and then trying to kill yourself in that damn tower…what the hell Luce?"

"But what was I supposed to do? I couldn't allow everyone to die, and you all have much more to live for than someone like me so…" Lucy started to explain but stopped when Natsu's face turned from just angry to pure rage.

"Damn it Luce! Why do you keep thinking about yourself like that!?" Natsu hissed as he glanced back at the room making sure that Erza didn't wake up with the intent to end him before his time. "Don't you remember what Gramps said? Your part of our family now and nothing, no matter what happened or what you did in your past."

Natsu tried to move forward and place a hand on Lucy's own but the blonde mage took a step back, shaking her head back and forth with a miserable expression on her face. "N-no…you all don't understand. Everything that I did…everything that happened to me…I…I can't ever really stand in the light like everyone else does. Isn't it better for someone like me, someone who killed her own parent, to die instead of anyone else?" Lucy asked, her tone becoming more and more frantic for reasons she couldn't identify.

"You know none of that matters to us and especially to me! Your our team mate and more than that my partner! You're Luce and nothing will change that."

"But why? Why don't you care about it? More than anyone else I don't understand why you can move on from what I did so easily." Lucy returned, her emotions becoming more and more unstable with each passing second. "You were raised by a dragon too, by Igneel, so how can you be so understanding of what I did to my mom? Why…" and with that Lucy's emotion state finally collapsed along with her knees causing her to fall to the ground with her hands on her eyes as Dragon Lucy tried to keep her emotions under control.

For a brief time the only sound on the balcony were the sounds of Lucy's quiet sobs. And while Lucy couldn't see Natsu with her hands covering her face she could imagine the angry look on his face. But when a pair of warm hands pulled at her own she couldn't help but squeak in surprise when she noticed Natsu kneeling down in front of her with a sad smile on his face.

"Because I can understand why you did what you did. If…if someone were to force me to choose between my dad and Happy I honestly don't know what I would do. You had to make that choice when you were still a kid. And even though you're keeping the stuff about the dragons a secret still it's not like you're doing out of spite right?"

"R-right…" Lucy managed to reply in between hiccups.

"So then why would I be mad at you for it? I trust you only second to Happy and I know that keeping it from me hurts you just as much as it hurts me." Natsu calmly continued as he cupped her cheeks. "Your you Luce, and no matter what you've done or what you'll do will make us stop caring for you. So stop thinking that you're worth less than anyone else…just stop please."

Lucy opened her mouth to respond, but stopped when she remembered The Guardian's words, the hole person's words overlapping with Natsu's. Is that what it was trying to say to her back in that space?

"Can I…can I really forgive myself Natsu? Can I really stand with everyone else in Fairy Tail?"

"What are you saying Luce? Of course you can. Geez, you're so weird Luce." Natsu said with a chuckle as he pulled her in for another hug, Lucy wrapping her own shaking hands around his back as she sobbed into his vest.

Even though she still couldn't figure out what the strange feeling in her chest was she just couldn't think about it right then and there. The emotional turmoil in her mind making it almost impossible for her to function properly and so she just left her weight in Natsu's warm hands as she cried.

* * *

"Geez Natsu can you try not to be so pathetic just once on trains? Its honestly just sad to think that the most powerful team in Fairy Tail has to deal with this." Gray commented with a sigh as he glared at Natsu's green face, the dragon slayers having long ago collapsed from his motion sickness.

"You shouldn't be too harsh on him Gray. I can tell you from personal experience that dragon slayer motion sickness is quite difficult to deal with." Lucy replied with a smile as she patted her fellow slayer on the shoulder, Natsu smiling briefly at her before going green again.

"Oh right, I forgot that you're a slayer too." Happy commented as the cat jumped up onto Natsu's stomach, the slayer groaning in response. "So why don't you get motion sick then?"

"Because of the seal." Lucy explained as she placed her left hand on her chest directly on top of the place where the seal was carved. "It not only seals away all my power but all the physical quantities as well. I don't have the sharp canines or enhanced smelling anymore but I also don't get too sick on vehicles with the exception of boats but I think that has more to do with just me rather than my magic."

"Ah yes, you are just as inhibited on ships as Natsu." Erza commented before frowning at Lucy's left arm, seemingly remembering something. "Actually Lucy, there was something I wanted to ask you. Did your weave truly capable of regrowing limbs?"

The mood in the room instantly chilled as Gray and Lucy frowned, the blonde mage holding out her hand as she studied it. "..No it isn't. Normally it would only be able to stop the bleeding and knock me out so that I don't lose control from the pain." Lucy explained as she slowly turned over her arm, finding no imperfections in her arm, not even the medical scars that remained from her childhood.

The group stayed silent as they processed this new information, Erza eventually sitting back and crossing her arms. "Does this have anything to do with the fact that you don't believe you survived the tower explosion?" She eventually asked.

Lucy could feel Natsu tense beside her while both Gray and Happy stared at her with uncomprehending looks. "It might have, like I said earlier I don't really have a clear picture of what happened."

"I see…would you be willing to explain to us exactly what happened when the tower exploded."

"Of course, but this might take some time so I suggest you settle in."

And with that Lucy launched into a tale of what had transpired. From her waking up in a ghost city to viewing her own funeral with a hole shaped like a person. The entire time Erza and Gray watched her with a mixture of shock and confusion while Happy just looked worried.

When she finished Erza released the pent up breath she hadn't been aware she was holding. "Had anyone outside of Fairy Tail told me that tale I would suggest they make a trip to the nearest medical facility or at the very least I would assume they were attempting to insult my intelligence. But since this is coming from you it's safe to assume that this is no joke."

"Well it sure as hell sounds like one. I mean a dead city with towers taller than the clouds? That sounds like something Cana would come up with after a few too many barrels." Gray retorted as he ran a hand through his hair.

Lucy couldn't help but nod her head in agreement as Erza once again met her gaze. "What is truly troubling is that this…being claimed it would be looking forward to seeing you again. I would speak to the Master when we return about what you saw. It might be nothing but something about the name of Solomon just strikes me as dangerous."

"You too? I got a strange chill when Lucy mentioned the name." Gray added on, shifting in his seat. "But Gramps should know something about it; he isn't a member of the Wizard Saints for nothing."

"Right." Lucy agreed before looking down at Natsu to see a strange look on his face. "Is something wrong Natsu?"

"It's nothing much…I just feel like I've heard of this Solomon character before…but I can't remember where exactly." Natsu commented before being hit by a particularly bad wave of nausea and jumping up and rushing from their seat to the back of the train.

Eventually their travels lead them to magnolia, and when they approached the place where the old guild once stood they were shocked to find a completed building in the place where the construction had been. A stone building that was twice the size of the previous one.

"Well this is a surprise." Erza commented as she examined the new building.

"Well I suppose it's only to be expected when we have a wood make mage in our guild." Lucy replied as she examined the café that had been built outside the guild along with a new gift shop.

"Oh? Welcome back Natsu, everyone." The man behind the counter of the gift shop greeted, Happy flying over to him immediately afterwards.

"Welcome back Max, they've got you working the counter now?"

"Well the Master did order me to go back to school and study business so I guess it does make sense." The man named Max said as he laughed slightly and turned to Lucy. "Oh? This must be Lucy, I've heard a lot about you from the others. The names Max Alors and it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise."

"So what are you selling Max?" Happy questioned as he examined the booth.

"Pretty much everything, from towels to t-shirts and everything in between. But the most popular items are the figurines." Max replied as he pulled out a Lucy figurine that featured her in her white dress with her bow in her hands. "The dress even comes off too!" Max continued, popping the dress off to reveal a tiny Lucy in a white bikini.

"Hmmm… I can't say that it's as accurate as I would have liked but I can see why certain things were omitted." Lucy commented as she examined the figurine for a moment before handing it back to Max and following her team through the massive doors that lead to the guild proper.

The inside of the guild was just as impressive as the outside, the main hall at least twice the size of the old one with a massive stage in the back.

"Wow! So pretty!" Happy commented as he landed on a railing and examined the guild.

"What's with you Natsu?" Gray asked, noticing the pout on the dragon slayers face.

"…its not the same…" Was all he said in reply as he looked around the guild and groaned slightly.

"Lu! Welcome back!" Levy shouted as she ran up and hugged the startled blonde.

"Ah, we're back Levy. The guild sure did change while we were gone."

"Oh you don't know the half of it. We have a pool, a game room, an even bigger library and infirmary." Levy started to list off before pointing up at the second floor. "And we're even allowed to go up to the second floor now and can even take S-class quests so long as an S-class mage accompanies you."

"Oh? So the dunderheads have returned?" Makarov joked as he walked up and smiled up at their group.

"Oh Master." Erza instantly greeted before noticing a crying blue haired girl behind the old man.

Before anyone could say anything Juvia flung herself forward and wrapped Lucy in a hug. "Oh Miss Lucy, Juvia was dreadfully worried that you had perished when we were unable to locate you. Juvia is ecstatic to learn that you are still alive…although that will quickly change if you go after my beloved Gray." The rain woman happily greeted before quieting down and glaring directly into Lucy's eyes.

"…I don't understand, why would I attack Gray?" Lucy questioned, her head tilted in confusion.

"You are planning to attack him in the sheets? Love rival is even more devious than Juvia first believed." Juvia cried out, Gray's face turning an impressive shade of pink in response.

"And there's one other new member as well." The Master continued as he gestured to a nearby table, everyone present freezing up at the sight of who was sitting there.

"Wh-what? You can't be serious Gramps!" Gray shouted out as both he and Natsu took combat stances when they saw that it was in fact Gajeel who was sitting at one of the tables.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Natsu growled, the air around him already growing hotter in response to his magic.

"Please wait a moment! Juvia was the one who brought Gajeel here." The water mage explained with a nervous expression.

"…Juvia aside,  _He's_ the one responsible for almost destroying the guild and hurting Lucy and Levy's team!" Erza refuted in an even tone despite the look in her eyes clearly portraying her fury.

"Now, now. You all know the saying. "Yesterday's enemy is today's friend." There's nothing wrong with allowing him into the guild." The Master declared.

"Y-yeah…I mean I'm ok with it…" Levy commented as she hid behind a table, her body shivering slightly at the sight of the iron dragon slayer.

But Lucy couldn't understand anyone's reaction so she simply walked up to the slayer and held out a hand as she smiled. "Well then, it's a pleasure to work with you Gajeel."

Gajeel's eyes went as wide as everyone else's at Lucy's strange behavior but before he could say anything Natsu rushed up and pulled the blonde aside.

"Seriously Luce? Just like that?"

"What do you mean? If the Master said he is a member of the guild then that makes him family doesn't it? I thought that it doesn't matter what someone did in their past so long as they are willing to move forward into the future."

"Well said child. It is my duty to help out children who are walking along the wrong path and as such I invited Gajeel to join us." The Master explained calmly despite the fact that Natsu had just slammed his fist down on the table Gajeel was currently occupying.

Screw this! I can't work with a bastard like this!" He screamed, Gajeel simply turning his head and glaring back at his fellow dragon slayer.

"Well then it's a good thing you won't have to because I don't plan on being all buddy buddy with you. I'm just here for work."

"He's not that bad of a guy at heart…I think." The Master commented before looking away, Erza sighing in response.

"If this is your decision then we will comply Master. But I will be keeping a close eye on him.

Natsu and Gajeel continued to face off, only seconds away from coming to blows, when the lights in the room turned off and the curtain on the stage opened up to reveal Mira sitting on a stool with a lacrima guitar in her hands.

Natsu immediately lost interest in the iron slayer, turning to the stage and waving wildly at the barmaid. "Yo Mira! We made it back!"

"Welcome back Natsu! Then this song is in celebration of our strongest team's successful return. "The barmaid announced before beginning to sing softly as she played the guitar.

Despite her limited knowledge of music Lucy did enjoy the song Mira was singing, the blonde mage simply closing her eyes and enjoying the relative quiet that accompanied the music. But all that changed when her performance ended and Gajeel decided it was his turn on the stage, playing an entirely different tune than the one that had proceeded him.

"You know…he's not half bad." Lucy commented neutrally as people began to throw food at the iron dragon slayer.

"Are you kidding Luce? This has to be one of the worst songs I've ever heard!" Natsu shouted back, receiving a guitar to the face courtesy of a pissed of Gajeel.

What happened next was something couldn't quite understand, the two dragon slayers immediately fighting against each other while Erza somehow became involved in the quickly growing brawl, screaming something about cake. Lucy however simply sighed as she grabbed Happy and took cover behind the bar, knowing that even if the guild was rebuilt this would always remain the one place that no brawlers would dare approach.


	16. Solomon's Child

"COOL, COOL, COOOOLLLLL! You two are absolutely COOOL!" The photographer in front of Lucy and Mira shouted out in between the rapid clicks of his camera. The two mages were currently posing with a massive fake beach behind them.

Lucy had been mildly surprised when Mira had asked her to come with her on a photo shoot, as apparently the editor behind Sorcerer Weekly had been requesting an interview and photography session.

And now the two women found themselves posing in bathing suits that most women would blush at seeing, but both Fairy Tail members were completely unaffected. Mira due to the many years she had spent modeling for this very photographer and Lucy because she simply didn't care in the slightest how much skin she was showing. Or at least she didn't care now, after everything that had happened at the tower of heaven.

"Alright ladies, that's a very cool wrap." Jason shouted with a wave up before turning away and speaking with some of the other photographers. Lucy and Mira moved off to the side, donning robes that had been put aside for them, before Lucy turned to Mira with a confused frown on her face.

"Mira? Do you mind if I ask you a question? Is that man some kind ice mage? For the entirety of this job he's been repeating "cool" over and over again but I couldn't feel any magic activation nor was it that chilly in here so…"

"Oh you don't need to mind him. That's just something he does." Mira replied with a light laugh before looking at Lucy with concern. "But are you ok? I was shocked when you agreed to come all things considered."

Lucy smiled for a brief second before placing a hand on her chest. "If you had asked me to come with you before the events at the Tower of Heaven I would have said no. but with everything that happened it looks like whoever brought me back gave me something more than just my left arm." She continued as she examined her near naked body.

It had been quite the shock to Lucy when the night after arriving back at the guild she noticed that not only did the so called Guardian repair her left arm, but had also erased every medical or combat scar she had received in the course of her life. Leaving her skin completely unblemished to the degree that Lucy couldn't even find a single sunspot on her body.

Although, perhaps that was the wrong way of looking at it. The Guardian did say that her body had been completely broken down when she tried to devour the ethernano so perhaps it really was an entirely new body. Something the Lucy wasn't exactly all that comfortable with.

Mira, having been told about the events and subsequent discoveries by Lucy herself, frowned as she placed a hand on Lucy's shoulder. "Have you noticed anything else that changed Lucy? Like maybe that thing changed something that it shouldn't?"

"Well…I think I feel more now." Lucy commented after pausing for a moment to collect her thoughts.

"…I'm sorry?"

"Well, back before I…died I could never feel too much emotion at one time. When Dragon Lucy detected my emotional state becoming too unbalanced it would either forcibly reign in my feelings or simply seize control over my body for a brief time." Lucy started to explain as they made their way back to the changing room.

"You mean like what happened during the Phantom War?" Mira clarified as she ushered Lucy into the changing room before beginning to change out of the skimpy swimsuits.

"Yes exactly. But after…uh, coming back to life everything feels like it's completely unfiltered. Like Dragon Lucy doesn't remember how to filter out my stronger emotions. I even found myself smiling for no particular reason yesterday…It's annoying." Lucy commented with a pout, Mira laughing even harder before placing a hand on the younger girls head and rubbing her scalp, a look of content passing over the Elemental mages face as she did so.

"Aw, don't be like that Lucy. It's fun to feel things after all…plus if you can feel that makes my plan all the easier." Mira commented at first, her voice slowly becoming quieter as she went on.

But Lucy still managed to hear the end of her sentence, a confused look now on her face as she finished dressing. "Plan? What plan?"

"Oh don't worry about it Lucy, just something I've decided to work on between you and a…certain other person in our family." Mira explained with a nervous laugh.

Lucy's frown only grew at that, but before she could ask Mira to clarify there was a knock on the door, said door swinging open only seconds later to reveal the photographer, Jason, on the other side with a massive grin and the payment for the days activities in his hands.

"Very cool! I've got your reward here ladies." Jason all but yelled as he handed the two each a stack of Jewel. "To think not only did we get "The She-Devil" but "The Elvish Sniper" as well. Its just so COOOL."

"I'm sorry, who are you talking about?" Lucy questioned as she accepted the cash.

"Oh, you didn't know?" a lot of magical enthusiasts have taken a liking to you Miss Lucy and decided to give you a nickname like they do for all famous wizards." Jason explained.

"So I'm this Elvish Sniper then?" Lucy clarified, receiving an enthusiastic nod in response. "I see…then who's this She Devil you mentioned?"

"You don't know that either? It's of course M-."

"Thank you Jason but we're both tired now so if it's all right with you I think we'll just head home." Mira interrupted, Jason flinching slightly before nodding and escorting the two girls out of the venue with a somewhat forced smile and wave.

It wasn't long afterwards that the two Fairy Tail members found themselves back aboard a train for Magnolia. Neither talking, both simply enjoying the peace and quiet. Lucy would have normally greatly enjoyed a brief moment of silence but with what had happened to her only weeks ago her thoughts were inevitably drawn back to the strange cityscape that she woke up in.

She had asked Master Makarov about a being known as Solomon, or even if he knew anything about Solomon's Gate but the elderly Wizard Saint's answer was simply that he had never heard of such a being nor did he know of any golden cities anywhere in the world. The Master of Fairy Tail had ordered Lucy to visit a local apothecary by the name of Porlyusica, a pink haired woman who had a permanent scowl on her face from the moment Lucy met her. The elderly woman had been the one to notice that Lucy's body was as fresh as a newborn child with the exception of her dragon seal, the seal only deepening the woman's frown when she noticed it and the Weave under her skin.

But other than that she could determine nothing different in Lucy's body structure, sending Lucy home after telling her to never come back unless she was dying. But that just left Lucy with even more questions. Not only did this entity use healing magic, something almost unheard of in the world of magic, but used healing magic on such a scale that Lucy wasn't sure it could even be referred to as magic.

What was done to her was more in the realm of miracles rather than magic. A power beyond the realm of man.

 _But if that's the case then who exactly was this Solomon person and why was that gate so important?_ Lucy thought as she shut her eyes, her motion sickness acting up for a brief second.

"So Lucy." Mira eventually started to speak, drawing Lucy's attention away from her depressing thoughts. "Have you thought about what you're going to do for the harvest festival?"

"Harvest festival? What's that?" Lucy parroted with a tilt of her head, Mira chuckling at her cluelessness.

"I guess you could think about it like it's a very big party that the whole town of Magnolia will be involved with. Fairy Tail will have a big parade that we call the Fantaisa parade!" The barmaid explained in an excited voice, Lucy recoiling slightly at the sheer volume she was using. "Oh and we can't forget the Miss Fairy Tail Pageant. It's the highlight of the whole festival for the women of the guild."

"a pageant huh…well I wish you the best then." Lucy commented with a shrug.

Mira looked shocked as she studied Lucy's face. "Oh no you don't, you're going to be entering the pageant too Lucy. No buts about it."

"Why would I? I don't have any marketable talents to show off.

Mira gave Lucy an incredulous stare before pointing at the bow sitting on the seat next to the blonde mage. "Of course you do Lucy; you've got a talent that's so well known it got you a nickname. Just use your bow along with your magic…plus I can dress you up in a new outfit because of this." Mira explained with a giggle, a giggle that made Lucy shiver in what she could only assume was fear.

"Oh ok I guess…I guess I can play along." Lucy relented, Mira smiling widely as she did so. "But I don't understand why you would push so hard for me to take part."

"He, he…let's just say that I want a certain member of our guild to see how a lot of the men in Magnolia view you." Mira cryptically answered and refused to elaborate when Lucy prompted her.

_Oh well, it's not like I had any plans for this festival anyway and Natsu's still too sick from eating the ethernano to go on any jobs so this should be fine._

The two girls eventually made their way back to Magnolia, Mira going in the direction of her own home while Lucy made her way to Fairy Hills. But before she could open the door Lucy once again detected presences within her room.

 _Two attacke- oh, its just Natsu and Happy._  Lucy quickly identified as she slowly opened the door, not actually seeing them but knowing they were sleeping on her bed. Quietly, Lucy made herself a meal before moving to join her two teammates in a restful sleep. But before she could lay down she noticed that Natsu's scarf was currently resting on the floor.

 _Huh, I don't think I've ever seen him take this off. Even in the other times he slept in my bed._ Lucy realized as she picked up the white cloth, narrowing her eyes when her fingers came into contact with the strange material it was comprised of.

"Ah…meanie…give Natsu back his scarf." Happy murmured sleepily, apparently woken up by Lucy trying to get into bed.

"I didn't take it; I just found it on the floor." Lucy denied as she placed the scarf on the bed by Natsu's hand, the pink haired dragon slayer grabbing it despite the fact that he was very clearly still dreaming. "Is the scarf important to him? Now that I think about it I don't think I've ever seen him without it, even when we were at the beach."

"Aye, it was a gift from Igneel so Natsu really cares about it." Happy explained casually, Lucy's eyes going wide in surprise as she stared down at what had appeared to be nothing more than a simple fashion statement.

"I see so it's a memento of his dad huh…" she murmured quietly, almost forlornly as she gazed at the scarf.

Happy, seemingly just then remembering that Lucy was raised by a dragon as well, frowned as he stared down at Lucy's bed. "I'm sorry Lucy; I forgot what happened to your mom."

"No it's alright Happy. It's my own fault that I don't have anything to remember her by." Lucy sadly admitted as she took her spot on the bed. But before she could fall asleep she noticed that Natsu still looked incredibly uncomfortable, sweat dotting his brow while he grimaced occasionally. "Is he alright? He looks like he's still in pain."

"Aye he'll be fine. It's the same thing that happened when he tried to eat Laxus's lighting."

"…why would he do that? Lighting has never seemed that tasty to me."

"Well…he didn't want to eat it, but he was fighting Laxus and getting his butt kicked so he tried to eat his way out and only lost faster." Happy explained casually.

"So Laxus is that powerful? He didn't seem all that impressive to me." Lucy commented offhandedly.

"Aye, he's super duper strong! Although I think Erza or Mystogan might be able to beat him now. Actually Mira was pretty good back in the day, they even used to call her the She-Devil."

"…ah…so that's what Jason was talking about."

"Oh I know!" Happy exclaimed as he jumped up, still not waking up the fire dragon slayer on the other side of the bed. "We should have a big tournament to decide who the strongest fighter in Fairy Tail is. It might be fun to find out where you stand right?"

"I suppose so." Lucy admitted as Happy began to rattle on about all the different members and how they would stack up against each other. "But that's enough for tonight. I'm tired and Natsu needs his rest."

"Alright then, goodnight Lucy."

"Goodnight Happy." Lucy returned as she closed her eyes and let sleep overtake her.

* * *

A week later Lucy, Natsu, Gray, Juvia, and Happy were walking through the rows and rows of stalls enjoying the sights and sounds of the city-wide celebration. Lucy in particular had trouble keeping her mouth closed as she looked from stall to stall. She had never seen so many people just…enjoying themselves. No nefarious plots or anything seemed to be going on.

But her observations were cut short when Natsu staggered forward almost drunkenly, his head slowly turning from side to side.

"Must…eat…must eat everything…"

"Aye! Its chowtime!" Happy exclaimed as Natsu slowly made his way to the nearest food stand, the man behind the counter taking at step back at his strange behavior.

"Still hasn't recovered huh." Lucy commented offhandedly as she fiddled with the dress Mira had prepared for her to use in the pageant, something she referred to as a far eastern style dress.

"He does seem rather ill doesn't he?" Juvia replied in the same neutral tone of voice, Gray simply shrugging along.

"Eh, he'll be fine once he eats something you'll see."

There was a brief moment of silence before a man called out to Gray, a man who identified himself as Warren, a telepathy mage with Fairy Tail that tended to take on longer jobs than most.

"Well it was nice to meet you Warren but I have to go get ready for the Miss Fairy Tail contest. Until next time." Lucy said as she took a step towards the guild, only to have a blue haired water mage stop her in her tracks.

"Hold it right there Love Rival. Juvia refuses to allow you to get a step up on her. Juvia shall be entering as well." The rain woman challenged, her voice dark and almost furious with Lucy for reasons she couldn't even begin to understand.

"Oh ok…then let's go." Lucy replied as they made their way to the guild hall, finding the front patio absolutely covered in excited looking men.

Making their way to the back of the stage, Lucy was surprised to see Erza standing amongst the participants. The scarlet haired mage impatiently tapping her foot as she watched everyone file into the guild hall.

"You're taking part in this as well Erza?" Lucy questioned as she moved to stand alongside her teammate, Erza sparing her a quick glance before staring out at the stage once again.

"Of course, this is a competition after all. And besides, I have always loved to be up on the stage." The requip mage commented as she gazed upwards, her eyes all but shinning as she likely imagined herself performing.

"I see…well good luck to you." Lucy wished her teammate as Max announced the start of the show with a level of flair that Lucy found somewhat peculiar. It wasn't like this was that big of a deal…right?

Max listed off each girl in turn, each of the women showing off their magic in a crowd pleasing way. But as each one went on Lucy began to feel less and less confident. Was her talent with her bow really so grand to compete with everyone else? Well…everyone else besides Mira, who for some reason used her magic to turn her face into both Happy's and Gajeel's.

But time ran out for Lucy the moment Max started to introduce her after Bisca had finished with her performance. "And last but most certainly not least, the blonde bombshell who's certain to shoot an arrow straight through your heart; Lucy of Fairy Tail!"

Lucy was actually shocked by the amount of applause she received, not nearly as much as Erza or Mira's mind you but still more than she expected. She said nothing as she drew both her bow from her back along with a small bulls eye, intending to throw it into the air and shoot it in a similar manner to Bisca.

"Entry number eight…" A female voice announced from behind Lucy before she could make a move, drawing Lucy's attention away from the crowd until she could see a brown haired woman standing behind her. "I am the definition of a "Fairy". I am the definition of "beauty". And therefore I, Evergreen, am the winner of this competition."

Lucy could only stare on in confusion as her ears picked up on murmurs of confusion from the crowd. But it was also true that this woman was breaking the rules of the competition and that was something Lucy could not abide by. "Excuse me but it is currently my turn to perform, would you please wait for a moment?"

"Lucy! Whatever you do don't look into her eyes!" Gray called out from the crowd, his voice tense.

"Hmph…who is this brat." The woman named Evergreen scoffed before lifting her glasses and glaring at Lucy

Time seemed to slow for Lucy as Dragon Lucy seized control over her body.  _Warning: foreign magic detected attempting to act on primary consciousness. Formulating attack pattern…complete. Seizing motor control…complete. Execute attack pattern._

Dragon Lucy quickly severed Lucy's vision, it quickly figuring out that whatever magic the woman was attempting to use was vision based, and moved forward after tossing her bow to the side. Dragon Lucy couldn't see its foe but the moment the woman cried out in surprise she gave away her position…and that was all it needed.

Lashing out faster than most could see, Lucy's right hand shout towards the woman's unprotected neck, intending to strike her and disable her for the moment before dealing with her in a more permanent manner.

However the blow never landed, as just before Lucy's hand made an electrical current passed through the space next to her, shocking her and sending her skidding backwards.

"Heh, I guess we should have expected this from the monster Gramps brought in." A new voice called out from somewhere in front of Lucy, a voice she quickly identified as Laxus.

Lucy's vision slowly returned as she heard Max tell the crowd to flee while Evergreen clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"What do you two think you're doing? Are you trying to ruin the festival?" Master Makarov questioned angrily from his spot on the floor.

"All festivals need entertainment right Master?" Evergreen mocked as the curtain behind the stage rose, revealing the figures of the now petrified women who had taken part in the pageant.

"No way, Big Sis!"

"She got Erza too?!"

"You fool! Turn them back this instant!" The Master continued as Lucy took a step back from the two mages, trying her hardest to suppress Dragon Lucy in light of the apparent hostages.

"What are you talking about Gramps, this festival is just getting started!" Laxus laughed as he gestured to the statues behind him.

"What nonsense. Turn them back immediately or face the consequences."

"heh, if you're gonna take that kind of attitude I wonder just how many of them will last till the Fantasia parade?" Laxus threatened as a bolt of thunder landed only a few inches from the petrified girls. "We're being serious here old man."

It was then that a green haired man jumped down onto the stage, a man Gray identified as Freed. "Let us find out who the strongest member of Fairy Tail really is."

"Ya, lets have some fun!" Another man, Bickslow based off of what Lucy heard, joked as he too joined the others on the stage. The strange wooden carvings hovering around him parroting him all the while.

Lucy jumped down off the stage as Laxus continued. "The rules are simple. Whoever's still standing at the end wins it all…a battle of Fairy Tail!"

"Sounds good to me. Nice and simple." Natsu answered as he rose from his seat. "I'm all fired up!"

"Always liked that "rarin-to-go" side of you." Laxus complemented as Natsu jumped at him. "But what I don't like is how trite you are." He finished as a bolt of lightning landed directly on top of him.

"Ah…Happy was right, that really didn't look that tasty." Lucy commented offhandedly as Natsu fell backwards, out cold once again.

"If you want us to turn the girls back to normal then you must defeat us." Evergreen explained as she smirked down at them. "You have three hours before we shatter your precious girls."

"All of Magnolia will serve as the arena. Once you find us the battle begins."

"That's it! I've had enough of this façade!" Makarov shouted as his magic activated, his body growing exponentially bigger.

"I told you before old man, just simmer down! Its entertainment for the festival after all." Laxus continued as a bright light illuminated the stage, obscuring the four figures. "Let the battle of Fairy Tail begin!" And with that they were gone, likely having used the thunder to move across town.

"Damn it, we have to save my sister and the others!" Elfman cried out, panic clearly evident in his voice as he turned and sprinted out of the guild followed by nearly ever other member.

Lucy for her part however crouched by Natsu's side, making sure that the excitable dragon slayer hadn't received too much damage from that attack.

"Lucy you ok? I was afraid you were going to turn to stone too." Happy asked as he too flew over.

"I'm alright Happy, I just lost control for a second and went blind for a second after that." Lucy explained as she nodded in satisfaction, content now that she knew Natsu hadn't been seriously injured. But both of their attentions were drawn away from the pink haired slayer the moment a dull thud echoed from the front of the guild hall, both looking up to see the Master staring perplexedly up at the air.

"An invisible wall!" he shouted as he pressed his hands up against the air, almost appearing like a mime as he did so.

"What are you talking about Gramps? There's nothing here." Gray refuted as he tried to pull the Master outside, only for the old man's body to remain stubbornly in place. Lucy too couldn't figure out what was happening at first but when purple runes appeared in the sky the Master instantly began to explain.

"It's one of Fried's enchantments huh…damn, we played right into their hands…"Exit is forbidden to stone statues and those over the age of eighty." Huh…this will be an issue."

"You can't break out of it Gramps?"

"No…the rules are absolute." The master quickly declared with a shake of his head.

"Damn…can you do anything about this Lucy?" Gray asked Lucy as she approached, clearly grasping at straws.

Lucy too frowned for a moment before shaking her head. "No, none of my elementals are capable of dispelling and the power of an enchantment permeates the ground as well so I cannot dig him out."

"Guess there's no choice then, we'll have to take care of him ourselves. You coming Lucy?"

"Of course." Lucy replied with a smile as she strolled confidently forward…

…only to bang her head against the same invisible wall that impeded the Master.

"What the hell? Are you really over eighty Lucy?" Gray cried out in shock, the Master mirroring his look of surprise.

"…I honestly don't believe so. Perhaps the magic they attempted to use on me prevents me from leaving." Lucy tried to reason as the Master spoke to Reedus. "But whatever the reason it appears that I am trapped as well."

"Damn…really could have used your help in this one but oh well…even without you I still won't show any mercy to them. They're gonna pay for what they've done."

"mmm, good luck Gray." Lucy replied as Gray stormed off towards Magnolia.

"GYAAA…huh? Where's Laxus? Wait…where's everyone?" Lucy heard Natsu cry out from his spot on the floor before rising and approaching the Master. "Oi Gramps, what's going on? And Luce? What are you still doing here if everyone left?"

"The air won't let me leave." Lucy explained as she pointed over her shoulder at the entrance, Natsu staring at her like she had gone insane as she did so.

"Natsu! The festival has begun! Laxus is hiding somewhere in Magnolia…go and defeat him!" The Wizard Saint ordered as he pointed outside.

"ALL RIGHT!" The excitable slayer screamed out as he barreled towards freedom…

…Only to strike the barrier with even more force than Lucy and Makarov combined.

"What the hell is going on? Neither of you are made of stone and I most certainly know Natsu's not eighty so why can you not leave?" The Master thought out loud as Natsu pounded away at the invisible wall, Happy flying in and out all the while. But all four of their gazes where drawn upward when a new set of runes appeared in the doorway.

"What?...Jet versus Droy versus Alzack?" wh-what in the heavens?"

"Why are they fighting? I thought this was supposed to be us versus the Thunder Legion?"

"…it's likely more enchantments." Lucy answered, drawing the gazes of the others. "If Freed had time to write the one around the guild he likely had time to place them all around the town…they've drawn us into quite the trap."

The four were silent for a moment as the runes changed, revealing that Alzack had claimed victory and that Levy's team was now out.

The four watched as the number of participants slowly began to fall but after another few minutes passed Natsu once again charged the wall.

"Damn it I want to join in too? Why can't I leave?"

"Imbecile! Why would you want to fight now?" The Master chastised as he smacked Natsu across his head.

"What are you talking about? It's a tournament right? Why would I fight?"

"How is this a tournament? It's just a bunch of friends fighting because someone egged them on. Everyone's in a frenzy in order to prevent the girls from shattering and now their fighting against their fellow members…at this rate those who've been petrified will be gone forever."

"Nah, Laxus wouldn't go that far." Natsu quickly denied with a smile. "He's annoying as hell, but he's one of us. He's obviously bluffing."

"Is that how it is? Because he seemed pretty serious to me back there…or is that just the way he always talks?" Lucy added but was promptly ignored by the others.

"But why in the hell cant I get out? I really don't think that I'm over eighty."

Lucy wanted to believe in what Natsu had said about Laxus, but as time went on and more and more of their family were ending up defeated Lucy's faith began to waver.  _At this rate Erza and the others are going to be in danger…will I have to once again call him out and wash the city in fire?_

"Oh no! They took out Reedus! Now we won't be able to get Porlyusica's help." Happy cried out as they watched the number of participants fall yet again.

"We don't need her. The whole shatter thing was obviously a bluff."

"Oh? You think I'm bluffing Natsu?" Laxus questioned arrogantly, a thought projection appearing behind the four of them. The thunder mage quickly looked at each of them in turn before strolling forward. "But still, what are you and the monster blonde behind you still doing her Natsu? Would've thought you would jump at the chance to lose to me again."

"We're stuck here! And if you call Luce that one more time then I swear ill roast you alive." Natsu answered, his voice turning serious at the end.

"Laxus…"

"What's the matter old man? Can't stand to see your brats fighting each other? With Natsu, Erza, and Blondie here out of the fight there's no one left who can beat the Thunder Leigon…so what will you do? Surrender?"

"Its not over yet! Gray's still out there and he's just as strong as Natsu!" Happy defended, Natsu shouting in anger at being compared to Gray almost immediately.

"Gray? Your placing you hopes on that runt?"

"Do not underestimate Gray, Laxus!"

"That's right, and if worst comes to worst I can do something about the Thunder Leigon from here." Lucy announced, drawing a skeptical gaze from Laxus.

"You Blondie? What the hell do you think you can do if you can't even walk outside?"

"I can summon the lord of fire." Lucy answered immediately, narrowing her eyes as she did so. "Although since I don't have accurate coordinates on the four of you he will likely just burn down all of Magnolia so I would prefer to avoid using him if possible.

"Absolutely not Lucy, we will not endanger the people of Magnolia due to our fighting." The Master instantly refuted with anger on his face.

"I won't have a choice Master. Dragon Lucy prioritizes her comrades over civilians. If it detects that the others are in danger it will simply seize control over my body and summon Ifrit itself."

"Well then I have a solution for us all, especially since it looks like your precious Gray lost to Bickslow." The thought projection of Laxus continued as he gestured up at the runes. "If you want this to end without the town getting involved then Gramps here can just hand over the title of master to me."

"That's underhanded Laxus! You too afraid to fight me huh?"

"Why you little…that was your aim from the very start!"

"You have an hour and a half before the statues crumble. If you want this to end then use the guilds loudspeaker to announce your retirement to the entire city." Laxus shouted with another laugh. "Think it over old man. What's more important, your title or your friends?" and with that the thought projection disappeared.

"…Lucy, were you being serious when you said that you would be forced to call out Ifrit if time ran out?" The Master questioned quietly as Natsu cursed Laxus.

"…No, I was trying to force his hand but he didn't go for it." Lucy admitted in an equally as serious voice. "Although I am capable of doing exactly what I claimed if you order it."

"…I have never cared about my title as Master…but at the same time I cannot entrust Fairy Tail to Laxus just yet."

"But then who will defeat Laxus?" Happy questioned sadly.

The four were quiet for a moment before they heard the sound of metal moving behind the counter, Gajeel standing up to glare at them.

"Gajeel? Will you go out there for us?" The Master asked, completely ignoring the fact that the iron dragon slayer was there the whole time.

"I do have a score to settle with that bastard…so sure, just leave it to me." Gajeel answered confidently as he strolled forward, Lucy narrowing her eyes as he neared the precipice.

And sure enough he too was stopped right before reaching the outside air, the runes flaring in response to his face being pressed up against it.

"You're eighty too? Our guilds filled with senior citizens!" Natsu exclaimed in a panic.

"At the very least we will get more benefits from the Fiorian government." Lucy added as she watched the number of participants continue to fall before stopping at three.

"No way…are you three the only ones left?!" The Master exclaimed in a panic

"That's so mean! Why don't I count as a Fairy Tail wizard?" Happy added as tears of frustration fell from his eyes.

"Is this really how it ends? With no one left to fight?" The Master continued, his tone completely hopeless, before Natsu clicked his tongue and started to walk back to the inside of the guild.

"No choice then. I guess I'll just have to revive Erza. Damn, and this was my chance to finally show her up too.

"What are you talking about Natsu? You're not a dispeller are you?" Lucy questioned from the front, watching Natsu suspiciously as he walked over to Erza's stone form.

"No way, I'm just gonna burn the stone stuff off of her."

"Stop it! That's not a covering of stone you fool!" the Master called out as he rushed over, Natsu's fiery hands only inches away from Erza.

However, before he could put a single hand on her, the stone began to crack.

"Oh shit she cracked! Glue! Someone bring me some glue!"

"That's not gonna work moron, we got to weld her shut!"

The stone continued to crack, Natsu backing away and apologizing profusely to the crumbling statue, before finally breaking away to reveal a very confused looking Erza.

"I feel hot…was it you Natsu?!" She growled out, the glare on her face causing the terrified slayer to cry out in panic before he was knocked away by the furious red head.

"Thank goodness…but how?" the master questioned as he and Lucy approached.

"I'm not quite sure, but I think it might have something to do with my right eye."

"Welcome back Erza. Do you understand the situation?" Lucy greeted before confirming.

"Yes, I could still hear you despite being petrified."

"We can do this! It's time to strike back!"

The five walked to the front of the guild then, a look of determination on Erza's face as she approached, but before she could leave the number went back up, first to four and then to five.

"Someone else woke up?" Lucy questioned as she gazed back at the stone forms on the stage, seeing that all were still accounted for.

"Aren't you all forgetting about someone? Someone who's constantly out of town?"

"Ah of course, Mystogan! So he's come back!"

"Well then I'm off Master. Pray for my success." Erza commanded as she sprinted out of the door, a look of relief on the Masters face as she passed the barrier.

"Thank goodness, I was afraid she wouldn't be able to escape either." He admitted as he rubbed the sweat off his forehead.

"Well then all we can do now is wait." Lucy concluded as she crossed her arms and glared at the runes.

And after only a few minutes of waiting all the girls returned to their flesh and blood forms, each and every one blinking in surprise and confusion.

"What just happened to Juvia?" The water mage questioned as she looked around the guild hall.

"We were…in the pageant right?" Levy deduced before being tackled by Lucy.

"Levy…you're alright."

"E-eh Lu? What's going on?"

"Well done Erza! Now Laxus has no more hostages to use against us." The Master exclaimed before explaining the situation to those who were frozen, each and every one of them wearing a look of anger and frustration.

"So what do we do about everyone who was hurt because of Freed's traps? They've hurt too many of our comrades for us to just ignore this" Mira questioned with a concerned look on her face.

"That's right, we need to teach Laxus a lesson he'll never forget!" Bisca added.

"Oh you don't have to worry about that. I have quite the ordeal planned for that boy."

"Well hold on, while I don't agree with how he did it I do think it's a good idea to find out who's the strongest in Fairy Tail. So don't be too hard on him Gramps, it's just a game after all."Natsu commented before grinning wildly. "So why don't we get started with round two right here and now? How about it Luce? Wanna go at it?"

"Its fine with me, but I don't think the guild hall can take that much punishment and we did just rebuild it so we should probably wait until the runes are gone." Lucy instantly replied.

But the moment Lucy mentioned the runes they started to collect in the center of the guild hall, forming a gigantic human skull.

"…Can you hear me old man?" Laxus's voice questioned as it echoed out of the skull. "Since one of the rules went out the window I'm just gonna add another one here and now. I've activated the Thunder Palace in place of the hostages and set it to go off one hour and thirty minutes from now."

"Impossible…he wouldn't." the Master murmured breathlessly, a look of shock and anger on his face as he glared up at the skull.

"Do you have what it takes to beat us? Or will time run out instead? Better make up your mind soon old man." Laxus finished, the skull vanishing the moment he did so.

"What are you thinking Laxus? I can't…Ugh." The Master started to shout before grabbing at his chest with a pained look on his face.

"Oh no! The Master needs his medicine!" Mira shouted as she sprinted to the back of the guild hall. The others all gathered around the Master with looks of concern on their faces…with the exception of Lucy, who forced her way through the group to kneel next to the elderly man.

"Luce…what are you…" Natsu questioned but Lucy couldn't hear him at that moment. As she had already given control over her consciousness to Dragon Lucy.

 _Accessing Medical information…confirmed. Target experiencing heart attack. Searching for solution…confirmed. Executing Elemental summoning…_ Dragon Lucy quickly deduced and activated Lucy's magic, a blue haired elemental appearing alongside her a second after she knelt down.

"Nyneve? What are you doing here?" Natsu questioned as his gaze switched between the Elemental and his partner, who was now picking up the Master and moving steadily but quickly to the infirmary.

"My Master required me to perform a unison raid with her Dragon side in order to control this man's bodily functions and alleviate the cause of this attack." The water Elemental explained in a no nonsense tone, the blue glow of her magic suffusing her body and connecting with both Lucy and Master Makarov. "My Master and I will care for the Wizard Saint, in the mean time I suggest you discover the source of the uncomfortable magic surrounding this city."

* * *

Lucy panted heavily as she whipped the sweat from her brow. It had taken all her concentration to remove the blockage in the Master's heart and even then it hadn't been perfect. But it was all she could do in this situation…a situation that was continuing to deteriorate.

Lucy had been informed by the others that the town was currently surrounded by lighting lacrima that contained body link magic, shocking anyone who attacked them, something Bisca had found out the hard way. Now the only people in the guild were Levy, Gajeel, Happy, and Natsu. But time was continuing to run out.

 _Get well soon Master._ Lucy prayed as she walked out to the main hall to see Levy hard at work on translating the runes, Gajeel and Natsu hovering just off to her side with looks of frustration on her face.

"Lu! Is the Master…"

"I've done all I can. What happens next is up to him" Lucy commented sadly as she glared at the door.

"Damn it, we can't afford to sit around here. Is there any way you can hurry this up Levy?" Natsu growled out as he too glared at the door.

"I'm doing the best that I can but I don't know…this thing is really complex. I don't…I don't know if I can break it in time."

"I see…then I guess I'll just have to force my way out then." Lucy decided with a sigh as she walked to the back of the guild and glared at the door, lowering her center of gravity like a sprinter about to take off.

"It doesn't work Luce. I tried that earlier and it just hurts." Natsu shouted as he watched his partner.

"Well…you don't have a body quite like mine." Lucy replied with a sad smile on her face. Using chance that Natsu's shock gave her to sprint forward as fast as she could. Then, when she was only a foot or so away she activated the weave, reinforcing her defenses around her body to a degree she never used before while at the same time pouring strength into her legs for a final burst of speed.

And just like that she struck the barrier like a bullet, a sound of screeching metal echoing throughout the guild as she hit with full force. At first the barrier remained strong, a crimson energy crackling throughout the entryway, but after a few tense seconds the barrier gave way, Lucy popping through it like a pencil poking through a bubble.

Enjoying her newfound freedom, Lucy rolled to a stop a few feet from the guild hall, grimacing in pain as she rose to her feet. Even with her weave the barrier was still not something that just anyone could do and the energies had both burned and cut her skin.

"Oi Luce…what the hell, why did you do that?" Natsu growled as he pounded on the enchantment, clearly pissed over Lucy's wounds but unable to do anything on his side.

"There's no choice, we have to defeat Laxus before the Thunder Palace activates…leave Laxus to me, I'll defeat him." Lucy replied with a pained smile as she started to make her way out of the guilds gate

"Hang on Lucy, I'll come with you!" Happy shouted as he flew alongside his blonde companion. The two moved in silence for a good while, Lucy scanning the crowd for the Thunder Legion, before Happy finally spoke up. "Lucy…you really shouldn't throw yourself into barriers so often."

"Do I do it that often? I feel like that tends to be a rarity in our lives."

"Ok fair point, but still. When you broke through and then got trapped inside that wind barrier during the whole Lullaby thing Natsu got really upset because you got hurt."

"He did? Even back then?" Lucy returned with obvious surprise, Happy nodding in surprise.

"Ya, and I'm sure he's pretty pissed right now too after seeing you get hurt in front of him but not being able to get to you."

"Why? We are both guild mages, danger is simply part of the paths we've chosen."

"Well…I guess that's true…but you should still be more careful Lucy." Happy chastised, Lucy inadvertently nodding in response to the force behind his tone.

"Ya Lucy, be careful be careful!" A chorus of voices echoed, each one coming from strange wooden figures hovering around the two of them.

The next thing Lucy knew she was airborne, Happy having grabbed her by the back of her dress and lifted her out of the way of the a multitude of energy attacks that had rained down from the wooden figures.

"What is…?" Lucy murmured as Happy placed her down on the top of a nearby building.

"It's Bickslow!" Happy returned, the visor wearing mage that accompanied Laxus landing on a flagpole nearby.

"Yo! You the newbie that everyone's telling stories about?"

"…possibly? I cannot really confirm or deny."

"Really? From what I've heard you offer your underwear to anyone who needs it while beating down Erza."

"Yep she did those things." Happy confirmed from Lucy's side, the blonde in question gazing at the two of them in confusion.

"Well not like it matters…okay babies! Get 'er!" Bickslow shouted, the wooden figures flying even higher and raining down green energy blasts on the two of them. Lucy easily rolled out of the way and in a single fluid motion drew the bow from her back

"Oh? You fight long range too? Then let's have ourselves a little shoot off!" Bickslow cackled as his wooden figures moved to strike.

Only for each and every one to be shot down by a silvery arrow seconds later.

"While I have nothing against you personally I must defeat Laxus in order to protect Fairy Tail. Surrender now and I will spare you some suffering." Lucy commanded coldly, her bowstring drawn back with a pale arrow aimed right at Bickslow's forehead.

"Oh no! My babies! First you were frozen and now you've been blasted to bits by this psycho chick!" Bickslow cried out like a kid whose favorite toy's had been destroyed. "My Babies…babies…gotcha!"

Lucy's eyes widened in shock as two dolls flew past, ripping her bow from her hands and dropping it into a nearby alley.

"My magic controls souls, psycho chick. So no matter how many of my dolls you destroy I can always move them to something else." Bickslow explained as his dolls opened fire. "Sorry to say but this is over now, although lucky for you I'll keep your soul around for myself. Yours is pretty interesting if I do say so myself… **Baryon Formation** " he shouted, the dolls forming a ring and firing a particularly large blast at Lucy, a blast that covered nearly the entire roof.

 _Cant dodge! Happy will get caught up in the blast!_ Lucy realized as she crossed her arms over her chest, praying that her already weakened body would be able to survive the attack.

"Lucy run!" Happy shouted from where he had gotten caught in a pile of rock.

But thankfully for both neither had to move, as a blast of light knocked away the green energy that Bickslow had been sending their way. And when the smoke cleared a brown haired man was standing in front of Lucy wearing silver armor that had been polished to the point where it was almost blinding, white wings protruding from his back.

"You know it's funny, for some reason I could just tell when you needed me. Perhaps that shows just how strong our bonds of love have become." Loke questioned in a smooth voice as he turned to smile at Lucy. "You don't need to worry now Lucy, your angel has arrived."

"Angel? I thought you were a light elemental?" Lucy questioned with a tilt of her head, both Loke and Happy sighing in response.

"You know…I kind of feel bad for Natsu, it's gonna take him years at the rate you two are going." Loke commented as he turned back to Bickslow.

"Well if it isn't Loke! So you really were an Elemental after all! I kept quiet about it but now you're gonna bare your fangs at me? So you want in to the battle of Fairy Tail too huh?"

"I couldn't care less about it to be honest. But I refuse to allow you or your overcharged battery of a leader to hurt Lucy anymore."

"Hah, what a joke, you've never come close to beating me before and I never even took you seriously. But if you want to throw down again for old times' sake my Babies will be happy to oblige!" Bickslow returned as the dolls flew downwards and began to attack.

However Loke was more than ready for them, as the moment they entered his range the Elemental drew the sword at his waist and swung it through the air, creating a shockwave of light that sliced clean through each and every one.

"Lucy! I got your bow back! Let's go and attack Bickslow while Loke takes care of the dolls!" Happy shouted as he flew back up from the alley, Lucy's weapon in his hands.

"Alright, let's do this." Lucy agreed as Happy grabbed her by the back of her dress, lifting her into the air and over Bickslow's head where she shot bolt after bolt at the soul mage.

"Damn…guess I've got no choice but to use "it" huh…" Bickslow murmured as he removed his helmet, his eyes glowing green as he did so. " **Figure Eyes!** " he chanted as Loke jumped up to their roof as well.

"Don't look at his eyes!" Happy shouted, Lucy reflexively closing her own in response to the panic in the cats voice. "One look into Bickslow's eyes and he'll turn you into a puppet and control your soul!"

"…that's some dark magic." Lucy quietly commented, her eyes still tightly shut.

"Aw you don't want to look at me huh? Then I guess my babies will just have to beat you down while you can't see." Bickslow laughed, the pain of being struck by one of the dolls hitting Lucy only a second later.

"Lucy…" The blonde heard her Elemental whisper from her side. "I need you to trust me on this. on my signal open your eyes and hit him with everything you've got alright?"

"Of course, you can count on me." Lucy returned without a hint of hesitation.

While she couldn't see it, Lucy could tell that Loke was conjuring an immense amount of Light magic into the palms of his hands. "Blessings of the holy king upon you… " **Radiance of the Pure Dawn!** "

"M-my eyes!" She heard Bickslow scream out only seconds before someone patted her on the shoulder.

"Lucy!"

"Right" She returned as she opened her eyes to a world covered in blinding light and aimed her bow at Bickslow. The light that had been blinding the man then gathered at the tip of her arrow, forming a whirlpool of brilliant magic. " **Unison Raid…Heaven's Spear!** " Lucy chanted as she loosed the arrow, the pale projectile transforming into a spear of light that shot through Bickslow in a straight line and disappeared into the horizon.

When the light finally faded Bickslow was down on the ground, unconscious but still alive. The arrow Lucy fired appeared to retain its magical disabling properties but gained the power to move at the speed of light.

"Thank you Loke. If not for you I would have had to use a much more damaging Elementa and would have done more damage to the city." Lucy admitted as she slumped down onto the ground, Loke and Happy walking up to her with smiles on their faces.

"There's no reason to thank me Lucy, after all I did it for this…" Loke murmured as he pointed his hand to the sky golden letters spelling out "I Love Lucy" appearing as he did so.

"…you helped me so you could conjure a message in the sky?"

"No…but I'm sure you'll get it one day." Loke continued with a playful shrug. "Until next time Princess." And with that he vanished into a golden light.

"He looovvveess you." Happy mocked as he too took a seat by the blonde.

"Of course he does, he's a Fairy Tail member right? Natsu told me everyone in Fairy Tail is supposed to love each other."

"Right…well why don't we take a little break for now. We've still got over an hour to beat Laxus after all."

"Very well…a short break won't change things too much." Lucy admitted as she closed her eyes and relaxed, focusing on recovering her magical energy.

* * *

Unfortunately the end of their break came far too fast, as once again Lucy and Happy began to make their way through the town in search of the lighting mage that had started all of this.

"Lucy, can't you track him though his scent or something…oh wait, your slayer senses don't work right now right?"

"Correct, with the seal in place I cannot use my dragon slaying powers. And even if I could there would be simply too many scents here with the festival going on to track down a single scent."

"Darn…if only Natsu was here we could track him down easil-." Happy started to say when the air became filled with a twisted and dark magic.

"Wha-what is this? Whose magic is capable of this?" Lucy cried out as she stared at the mountains to the south of town.

"No way…Mira? But I thought that she lost her magic?" Happy cried out as he too stared up at the sky, the darkness fading as the magical explosion dissipated.

"That was Mira?...I'm glad that I haven't done anything to her bar then…I don't think I could stand up to that." Lucy commented with an audible gulp. "But at the very least we can be sure that another member of the Thunder Legion has been taken out right? That should just leaves Laxus seeing as the Thunder Palace is still up right? Then let's go find him."

But before the two could move more than block away Lucy felt an immense magical energy coming from the center of town. The location of a massive cathedral known as Kardia Cathedral. "This is…Mystogan! If he's fighting someone than it could only be Laxus."

"Alright then! Let's get going!" Happy shouted as he started to make for the center of town, Lucy right on his heels.

But when she finally made it to the Cathedral she was greeted with a sight that was confusing by any definition of the word. She could see Natsu and Erza standing in the entrance, shocked looks on both their faces as they stared into the chamber. She could see Laxus, standing there with a confident look on his face as he glared at them.

And standing in the center of the room was a man that Lucy could only assume was Mystogan. A man with blue hair and a distinctive tattoo on the side of his face.

"Oh…so Jellal was Mystogan the whole time…that's interesting." Lucy commented with a faint tone of surprise, each and every person present turning to her the moment she spoke.

"Well whadaya know, the monster showed up too. Now we've got a real party going."

"But…Jellal? You can't be…still alive…" Erza murmured sadly, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"Erza…please forgive me. I was afraid you would see this. I'm not your friend Jellal, I know of him, but I am not him…I'm sorry but I must be going." Mystogan explained before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

"Oi wait up!" Natsu called out too late before slumping slightly. "Well that made my brain hurt…no, don't think about it right now…ALRIGHT LAXUS! It's time for us to fight!"

But Laxus didn't acknowledge Natsu's challenge, instead attacking Erza while she was distracted, his bolt of thunder sending her flying backwards.

"Hey jerk! Your fights with me." Natsu shouted, Laxus finally turning to look at him.

"Oh if it isn't Natsu, when did you get here?" He asked, apparently not registering the slayers presence until just then.

"Oh it's on now…I'll burn you to a crisp!" Natsu shouted as he rushed forward, his hand already on fire.

But Laxus was apparently ready for him, dodging each of his explosive attacks and landing a lightning infused kick of his own. Natsu began to stagger backwards from the blow but Laxus had other plans, latching on to his arm and charging his fist with thunder.

"Where do you think you're going punk!" He shouted as he began to pummel the fire dragon slayer.

 _I've got to provide support!_ Lucy decided as she summoned a lesser wind spirit to use as propulsion. "Happy stay back, this is going to be a dangerous fight." She warned before leaping to the left and aiming her bow and firing off an arrow just as Laxus as about to stomp her partner into the pavement.

But the thunder mage apparently knew the attack was coming leaping up above the arrow before glaring at her. "It doesn't matter how many of you weaklings gather you won't be able to scratch me!" He shouted as he tossed a bolt of lightning at her. Lucy narrowed her eyes as it approached, turning over control of her limbs to her subconscious guardian while she issued orders to the wind spirit. Dragon Lucy wasted no time in activating her weave, reinforcing the magical barrier around her hand before reaching out and swatting away the bolt, the electrical current striking a nearby pillar instead.

"Is that so? Then you should have no trouble dealing with this." Lucy murmured as she gestured upwards, her wind spirit having completed its task only seconds ago. Laxus turned his eyes upwards just in time to see the air above him covered in wind arrows, each and every one cutting through the air so fast that they were whistling. " **Wind arrow: Terminus Storm!** " Lucy shouted as the arrows rained down, Natsu barely escaping in time.

But it looked like the lighting mage was telling the truth earlier, as a lighting barrier that formed around his body easily disintegrated Lucy's wind arrows, Laxus smirking victoriously the entire time.

Lucy tensed up, preparing to make her next move, but before she could even twitch Erza shot forward in her black wing armor and swiped at the man, the thunder barrier stopping her blade as well.

"Alright Laxus, what have you put in the sky?" Erza demanded as she pointed her sword at her opponent.

"What? Haven't you heard? That's the Thunder Palace."

"You would take the people of Magnolia hostage? How despicable."

"Oh don't get me wrong, it breaks my heart, it really does. But that's just the way the games played doll face."

"Damn you!" Erza shouted back as she attempted to kick the arrogant mage, Laxus catching her foot and shocking her in return.

"Only two minutes to go until everything's over. And you can't even destroy them with body link magic on them."

Erza broke free a second after Laxus finished bragging, a new armor and weapon in her hands as she glared at the blonde man.

"Ha, Lighting Empress Armor huh? You think your little toys can protect you from my magic?" Laxus mocked as he sent another bolt racing towards the armored mage, Erza deflecting the blow with some lighting of her own.

"Oi Erza, butt out! This is my fight! And that goes for you too Luce!" Natsu shouted as he finally got back up.

Erza stared at Natsu for a second, seemingly weighing her options, before smiling. "Then I will simply have to put my faith in you. Lucy stay here and assist Natsu, I will deal with the Thunder Palace." Erza commanded before running off.

"Understood, good luck Erza." Lucy replied as she glared at Erza.

"Heh, good luck. You've only got a few minutes to stop them and with the magic on them you'll likely die after just one."

"Oi Erza! Whether or not you can destroy them you'd better make it back alive you hear me?" Natsu shouted after her, Erza only nodding her head in confirmation before continuing.

"Oh no you don't!" Laxus shouted as he tried to take off after her, but neither Natsu or Lucy were willing to let him go.

" **Fire Dragon's Roar!** "

" **Wind arrow: Gale Arrow!** " they shouted at the same time, both attacks striking the lighting mage at the same time and sending him skidding backwards

"You're not going anywhere Laxus. Your fights with us!" Natsu shouted, Lucy nodding in agreement as she moved to stand alongside her partner.

"You cocky little brats! I'll turn you both into ashes by the time I'm done with you." Laxus angrily shouted as the air crackled around him.

 _I'm going to need more defense for this fight…Thank you Wind Elemental, you may return to your plane._ Lucy thought as she dismissed her Elemental, summoning an earth Elemental in its place. The stones around her hovering in mid air as the spirit took form.

" **Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!** " Natsu shouted as he launched an attack on the lighting mage, an attack that he easily blew away with his own attack and sending him skidding away.

"Don't you see what's happened to our guild Natsu?" Laxus started to talk, the two of them pausing for a moment to hear him out. "Thanks to the old geezer Fairy Tail is nothing more than a joke now! He's let the guild become weaker than ever and even lets monsters like this chick into our ranks!" He continued on as lighting began to arc out from his body and striking randomly around the two of them, forcing Lucy to create Stone arrows in a futile attempt to ground the shocks. "Once I'm master I'll make it so the name Fairy Tail strikes fear into the hearts of everyone who hears it!" Laxus laughed before glancing at the runic timer, narrowing his eyes as the time came dangerously close to reaching zero.

"What's the matter Laxus, afraid that things won't work out the way you want it to? Once we're done moping the floor with you and when Erza finishes dealing with your spell everything will be over and you still won't be the master of the guild!" Natsu mocked as he charged back in, his fists covered in flames. "Not so easy to stick to your guns when everything's said and done huh!"

"Shut your mouth! What the hell would you know?" The lighting mage shouted as he sent another bolt of thunder forward, a bolt that was intercepted by one of Lucy's stone arrows.

 _This is taking too long…I need to finish him off before the spell activates…I'm going to have to do a unison raid in order to end this._ Lucy decided jumped backwards and prepared to summon a greater Elemental in order to attack. But before she could do anything a voice echoed inside her skull, a voice that did not belong to Dragon Lucy.

 _"Hey Fairy Tail! Can you hear me?"_ The voice, Warren if Lucy remembered correctly, called out. _"Things aren't looking so good for us. You see those things floating in the sky? We're gonna have to pull together and take them all out so get up and lend us a hand!"_

 _"Wait a moment, how did you find out about the Thunder Palace Warren?"_ Erza's voice as well began speaking in Lucy's mind, her voice distracting enough to the point where Lucy ended up taking quite the shock from one of Laxus's attacks.

 _"Good to hear you voice Erza. I was getting worried about you."_ Gray's voice added in, only adding to the multitude of voices in Lucy's head.

The mental conversation continued to grow worse and worse as more members began to first ask about how the petrified women were before devolving into angry shouts.  _I don't have time for this…Dragon Lucy, deal with this and obey their orders understood?_

_…Confirmed._

* * *

Gray was getting furious, not only were the dumbasses now screaming at each other through Warren's magic but time was almost up. Why the hell did the bastards think this was a good time to argue with each other? "We don't have time for this shit! Destroy the things in the sky or we're all doomed!" Gray shouted into Warren's ear, the telepathy mage grimacing as he did so. But his shouts were quickly ignored, the angry arguments only continuing to grow in strength.

But that quickly came to an end when what sounded like a bell chime loudly ringed out through the mental network, instantly silencing the multitude of arguments. " _…situation confirmed. Targets identified…marking primary targets…confirmed."_ A new voice called out in an almost emotionless tone but a tone that carried with it immense power.

 _"Is this…Lucy? But you sound so different than normal. And aren't you fighting against Laxus?"_ Gray heard Erza ask in a panic. The same feeling building in his chest knowing that his teammate was currently facing off against one of the strongest members of the guild and still had the time to speak to them.

" _Confirmed authority…negative, current designation "Dragon Lucy." Ordered to provide aid to Fairy Tail members and prioritize protection of civilian population in accordance with primary consciousness's beliefs. Authorized to act in place of primary consciousness."_ The voice answered, sounds of surprise echoing through the mental link. This is what those bastards did to Lucy? Creating a strange emotionless voice that was constantly in her head? Once again Gray was reminded of just how much he hated the Heartfilias.

 _"Well what now guys? Are you just going to let the new girl show us all up even when she's in a fight for her life?"_ Gray heard Cana's voice echo though the link, egging the others on.

 _"Hell no, if even her subconscious knows we need to protect the town than she has more Fairy Tail spirit than any one of us!"_ Someone answered, the others shouting in agreement as they prepared their magic.

 _Lucy! No, Dragon Lucy! Please target the lacrima to the east! I shall take the north! Everyone else pick your targets and don't leave a single one standing!"_ Erza ordered through the link.

 _"Confirmed…Oh ever burning spirit of flame, manifest your champion before me. Come forth…Phoenix."_ Gray heard the emotionless Lucy chant, and suddenly the mental link felt like it was on fire.

* * *

Lucy narrowed her eyes as she felt the gem of fire heat up in response to Dragon Lucy's summons's, her eyes going wide as she felt a powerful elemental begin to enter their world.  _Stay calm Lucy…it's not Ifrit…there's nothing precious up there for you to destroy here…there's nothing precious to destroy._ She chanted like a mantra as the spirit manifested, a massive bird of fire now hovering in the center of the cathedral.

"What the hell is this? I thought she was afraid of fire?" She heard Laxus shout out, his words barely registering in her panic addled mind.

"Wait what…? Luce's…afraid?" She heard Natsu murmur in shock, the one person she didn't want to have figuring out her worst fear.

But thankfully she didn't lose control like she did last time, as the bird of flame quickly flew out of the door and into the sky. A few seconds later a massive explosion lit the windows on the eastern side of the building, the cathedral shaking the moment the blast wave struck it.

Lucy watched in satisfaction as the runic timer vanished, Laxus's face one of shock as he stared at where it once was.

"See? Told you it wouldn't work. Weren't you saying something about how our guild needed to change? Because I don't see anything that needs to change. How do you expect to be our master if you can't get along with the rest of us?" Natsu challenged as he turned away from Lucy, apparently not willing to address her fear there and now, something she was grateful for.

"Damn you all! I'll take Fairy Tail by force if I have to. Just watch me!" Laxus screamed as lighting exploded out of his body at a rate completely unlike any of his previous attacks.

"I think it's about time for you to just give up the fight because I'll never let you get Fairy Tail!" Natsu shouted back as he jumped forward and tried to hit the lighting mage with a fiery fist. However even before he struck Lucy could tell that he wasn't going to be able to inflict any damage on the furious mage.

Laxus merely stood there as Natsu struck him in the forehead, not even seemingly registering the fact that he had just taken an attack. "And to start my take over…I'll kill you two!" he shouted as he placed his palm on Natsu's chest and hit him with enough power to send him flying backwards into the ceiling.

"Natsu!" Lucy screamed in panic, turning her attention away from the fight for a brief second, an opening that Laxus was quick to take advantage of. Closing the distance with the elemental mage in a second, Laxus lashed out with his leg, striking Lucy in the dead center of her own chest and sending her rolling across the floor until she hit one of the massive cathedral doors, blood leaking from her open mouth as she cried out in pain.

"Bring it on Fairy Tail! I'll burry each and every one of you!" Laxus continued to shout as he launched off the ground to meet Natsu in midair, beating the ever living daylights out of Lucy's partner before knocking him into the ground and forming a crater.

"Damn…can't move…" Lucy heard Natsu murmur as the pink haired mage tried to stand. But Laxus wasn't going to give him the chance, the lighting mage holding his hand up and forming a massive orb of thunder in the center of the cathedral.

" **Raging Bolt!** " Laxus shouted as he brought his fist down like a hammer, the sphere of thunder following his movements and landing right on top of where Natsu was.

"He…ha ha ha… one down, one more to go." The man laughed as he glared at Lucy.

But Lucy knew better than he did, she had seen him get in there just before the attack had landed after all.

" Wasn't this guy supposed to be one of your comrades?" Lucy heard Gajeel confirm from his spot in the rafters, one of his hands holding a limp Natsu. "Only someone with a screw loose would take out a comrade with joy. and you didn't hit him dumb ass, it's my job to exterminate this guy after all."

"Gu…Gajeel." Natsu murmured in pain as Gajeel jumped back to the ground and dropped the fire mage like a sack of potatoes.

"Oh good, even more prey to slaughter." Laxus replied with a very unstable laugh, lighting crackling around him as he did so.

"What the hell Gajeel! I get why Luce stayed, she was ordered by Erza after all, but I don't need you to take out Laxus!" Natsu growled as he rose back to his feet, Lucy approaching from behind as he did so.

"Not gonna happen, I've got a score of my own to settle with this guy. But this guys a real monster…I don't like it…but we're gonna have to fight him together." Gajeel replied with a growl of his own, his eyes never leaving Laxus's faintly shimmering form.

"Hell no! I'm not teaming up with someone like you!" Natus shouted back, Gajeel only sparing him a glance for a brief second before once again looking at the lighting mage.

"Take a good look at him Salamander. Is that the Laxus you know?" Gajeel challenged, Laxus changing "die" Like a mantra the whole time. "That's an enemy of the guild and us three are the only ones who can stop him now."

"…You're going to protect something?"

"Oi! I can protect or destroy whatever I want to bastard!"

Natsu smirked at that, lowering his stance and glancing at the iron dragon slayer. "I thought you said you wouldn't allow other dragons in your sky?"

Gajeel smirked back at that, clearly excited for the upcoming fight despite himself. "Well I guess I can let one other dragon in the sky for now, at least until we clear up all this lighting."

"U-um…I'm still here you know?" Lucy weakly added, the two slayers turning to her in shock.

"Oi Bunny Girl! You interrupted my speech!"

"…Bunny Girl?" Lucy parroted in confusion, Natsu's brow furrowing as he worked something out.

"Oh ya, why did you say two Gajeel? There's three of u-." But whatever Natsu was about to say was lost when a bolt of thunder struck in between the three of them, all three jumping away in order to avoid being electrocuted.

"You kids done with your chat? Then get ready to die!" Laxus screamed as bolts of thunder struck the ground randomly.

"Lets do this!" Both Gajeel and Natsu shouted at the same time before both rushed in, trying to land blows on the furious mage but failing to inflict any real damage.

Lucy however had other plans than just running in and trying to land a blow. After all, if people were going to start calling her the Elvish Sniper then she would have to live up to her namesake. "Oh indomitable spirit of the land, manifest your champion before me. Come forth Gaian!"

"Milady, who is our opponent for today?" Her sprit questioned as Natsu and Gajeel continued to lash out at the man, each one using their attacks in conjunction.

"The blonde one. Please grant me your strength Gaian, I need to finish this fight in order to protect my family." Lucy asked as Natsu was sent fly backwards only to boost Gajeel forwards with his breath attack.

"Of course Milady, the earth is always willing to lend you strength should you require it." Gaian answered as his body began to glow brown, Lucy's bow responding by forming a stone arrow the moment she drew back the string.

 _I'm only going to get one shot at this before I won't be able to use another unison raid again for awhile…I have to make this one count._ Lucy thought grimly as she waited for the opportune chance to strike.

And that chance came a few seconds later when Laxus was sent flying by a technique of Gajeels called "Iron Dragon Spear: Demon Logs" the lighting mage ending up in between the two slayers. For a brief second all three Fairy Tail mages seemed to be completely in sync, each one realizing what the other two were about to do. Lucy leapt into the sky, directly over Laxus's head, while both Natsu and Gajeel sucked in a breath.

" **Fire Dragon's Roar!** "

" **Iron Dragon's Roar!** "

" **Earth Arrow. Gaia Grave!** "

All three shouted out as they unleashed their attacks. The two breath attacks exploding directly on top of Laxus before the earth under his feet gave way, swallowing him up and collapsing in on itself.

The three of them stood there, not saying a word as they watched the smoke clear from the triple attack. Surely that was enough to stop him…right?

"…Is that really the best the three of you can do?" Laxus's voice mocked from within the dust cloud. All three taking a step back in panic. The smoke finally cleared to reveal a barely injured Laxus, the only noteworthy wound being a faint trickle of blood running down the side of his face.

"No way…that's it?" Natsu murmured in surprise, Gajeel mirroring his look.

"Impossible! I know the guy's tough but to take three powerful attacks and just shrug them off? What the hell is this guy?"

"He's strong…far stronger than any of us." Lucy analyzed in a calm voice, a voice that did not mirror her current emotional state.

"It's simple really…I've kept it under wraps because I hate the old man but I guess I'll let you three in on the secret here and now." Laxus mocked as his canines grew longer and his shirt began to rip from his body, his muscles responding to a new level of power. " **Thunder Dragon…** "

"No way!" "It can't be…" Natsu and Gajeel stammered out as Lucy took a step back, fear evident in all three of their faces. "Laxus is a dragon slayer too?"

" **Roar!** " The mage finished, lighting flying out of his mouth at such speeds that even Dragon Lucy wasn't able to react fast enough, the space around the three of them being filed with a blinding light and an immense amount of energy.

When the dust cleared Lucy was the only one left standing, Gaian having moved in between her and the attack in order to protect her with his natural resistance to electricity. While both Natsu and Gajeel were down for the count, electricity coursing along their bodies as they struggled to stand.

"Tch, I was hoping to finish you all off with that. And you're still standing to, you damn monster." Laxus scoffed as he glared at Lucy.

"If you are truly so arrogant as to believe your thunder is stronger than the earth itself than you truly are the apitamy of human arrogance." Gaian shot back, anger evident in his eyes. "I shall never allow you to end the Priestess, especially now that the king has acknowledged her. We elementals will protect her with our very existences if need be."

 _The…king?_ Lucy thought sluggishly as she attempted to fight off the numbness in her limbs, as even with Gaian's intervention she still couldn't get off without any wounds.

"You three…Erza…Mystogan…the old man…all the pathetic weaklings in Fairy Tail…it's time for all of you to just disappear!" Laxus screamed as his lightning arched into the ground, beams of light beginning to filter through the cracks.

"What the…what's with this magical energy?" Gajeel exclaimed, his eyes wide in panic.

"This is…it cant be!" Lucy screamed out, her mind instantly going back to the Phantom War. "This is the Master's…"

"That's right weaklings…I've mastered the Fairy Law spell!" Laxus announced as he placed his palms a few inches apart, a golden light filling up the space between them.

"Stop it Laxus! Do you know what that spell will do to everyone?! Laxus!" Natsu shouted but to no avail, as the light continued to grow more and more powerful.

 _I can't allow everyone to get hit by this magic; if it was enough to stop me back during the Phantom War then it most certainly will deal considerable damage to everyone else._ Lucy thought grimly as she stepped forward and placed a hand on her elemental's shoulder, the dark skin earth elemental turning to stare at her as she did so. A silent communication passed between them, Gaian instantly realizing what had to be done, and both turned to face the insane slayer.

The light continued to grow even brighter as Laxus smirked victoriously at them and clapped his hands together, causing even more beams of light to pierce the ground. " **Fairy Law…activate!** " he shouted as he clapped his hands together.

But before the light became too blinding Lucy and Gaian made their move, both slamming their hands into the ground as their magic melded together. " **Three Layer Stone Barrier!** " They both shouted as three massive stone domes covered the cathedral, preventing the light from leaking out.

 _If we can't beat him then we have to keep the others alive and well…I leave this to you two Erza…Mira._ Lucy thought as she smiled and let the light wash over her, waiting for her life to end.

.

.

.

But when the light faded and her consciousness remained Lucy frowned and blinked her eyes, studying her surroundings in confusion. The stone barrier had already disappeared along with her Elemental but everything else was as it was only seconds ago.

"Th-that can't be…why…why didn't anyone get taken out?" Laxus cried out in surprise as he stared at his hands in confusion. "You all were hit by all that magical energy dead on but why…?"

"Everyone in the guild and town still draws breath, not a single life was taken." Freed announced from the front of the cathedral where he leaned against the door, looking like he had one foot in the grave already.

"That's not possible! My Fairy Law was flawless!"

"Then the answer is simple, we survived because of the true nature of your heart, Laxus. You not only inherited your grandfather's immense strength but his caring nature as well. And since Fairy Law is only effective against those the caster views as their enemy you were unable to harm us. Meaning that deep down you truly see them as your comrades."

"N-no! Everyone who stands in Fairy Tail's way is my enemy! I'm not just the old man's grandkid…I'm me! I'm Laxus!" He shouted as his rage returned, thunder striking down at random.

But Lucy, having used up nearly every drop of her magical energy and therefore just barely standing, was unable to move out of the way as one of the bolts seemed to turn right for her.

"Oh shi-." Lucy cursed as she tried to shield herself from the attack, only to see Natsu step in front of her and take the attack himself, his flames deflecting the worst of the damage.

"Does being Gramps' grandkid really make you that much better than us? Does it make you that different? Quit howling about all this petty crap! Everyone in the guild is family and you've tried to hurt them! You tried to hurt my partner right in front of me! You're going down Laxus!" Natsu screamed in fury as his flames continued to climb higher and higher.

"Shut your mouth Natsu!" Laxus returned as he barreled forward, Natsu mirroring his actions down to the letter, the two clashed in the center of the cathedral for a brief second before flying through the roof. Lucy, Gajeel and Freed rushed out the door to watch the two dragon slayers trade blows over and over again before Laxus sent Natsu skidding backwards, the lighting slayer gathering an immense amount of magic in his fists as he did so.

"Stop, Laxus! That much magic will kill him!" Lucy heard Freed shout from her side, the world growing cold as what the green haired man said registered in her brain.

 _Kill?...he's going to…kill Natsu?_ Lucy thought blankly as a pain in her chest blossomed, a pain almost like someone was squeezing her heart… _No…I…I don't want Natsu to die…I'll…I'll_ _ **Kill**_ _him!_

But before she could do anything Gajeel rushed forward, his arm transforming into a metal pole.

The iron dragon slayer leapt up onto the roof just as Laxus launched his attack, the lighting transforming into a halberd as it sailed directly at Natsu. However, just before the attack struck home it veered off course, striking Gajeel instead and sending him flying off the roof.

Lucy quickly moved to catch the now falling dragon slayer while Natsu exploded into flames and launched attacks in quick succession before finally hitting Laxus dead on with his secret art.

And at long last it was over, Laxus no longer moving while Natsu feel to his knees and roared. a roar that made the pain in Lucy's heart vanish just like that.

* * *

"Thanks to Lucy's quick actions and Miss Porlyusica's help the Master is going to pull through." Erza announced to the crowd, a deafening roar of cheers and cries of joy answering her statement.

It had only been a few hours since the Battle of Fairy Tail had ended and nearly every single member was currently lounging around the guild hall nursing their wounds. Anywhere you looked one could see people wrapped in bandages or nursing bad bruises but none of that mattered now that they knew the Master was all right.

"Oh thank goodness. I was afraid I hadn't done enough to help him." Lucy breathed a sigh of relief from one of the tables, wincing slightly as various members came over to slap her on the back as thanks for her efforts.

"Heh, even without you it probably would've been fine, Gramps is too stubborn to kick the bucket because of some measly heart issues.

"But he is at an advanced age and any added strain will only continue to impair his health. Always keep that in mind, everyone!" Erza added, a chorus of "Yes ma'am" answering her.

"So then shouldn't we work on not causing so much property damage? From what I can tell I suspect that might be the worst issue he faces." Lucy thought out loud.

"Nah, there's nothing we can do about that so Gramps will just have to adapt." Gray continued without a hint of hesitation.

"But about the Fantasia parade. Are we really going to go ahead and do it with so many injured?"

"It's what the Master wants, plus you could say this is the best time to hold it." Mira answered from behind Lucy.

"Well so long as you're not as bad as those things you should be able to take part." Gray said with a scoff as he gestured over to where Natsu and Gajeel were resting, both covered in so much bandages that you could hardly tell who they were.

"Don't call us things." Gajeel instantly retorted, Natsu saying something muffled as his mouth was currently also covered in bandages.

"Actually, now that I think about it, why aren't you over there looking like a mummy girl Lucy? You went up against Laxus too right?" Gray asked, nearly everyone at the table turning a curious gaze on the elemental summoner.

It was true. Besides for a single bandage wrapped around her exposed midsection, as she had been forced to change out of her thoroughly destroyed eastern dress and into one of Mira's old outfits, Lucy was as fit as could be.

"Weave took care of most of my lighter injuries when I rested for awhile. The others should be gone by the time of the parade." Lucy explained, everyone at the table nodding in understanding with the exception of Juvia.

"Juvia doesn't understand. Weave? What exactly was woven?"

But before anyone could answer her a new figure entered the guild hall, a figure that quieted the entire place down in a second.

Laxus strolled slowly into the guild. An almost…sorrowful look on his face as he made his way for Erza. "Where's the old man?" he asked in a quiet tone.

"How dare you even show your face here?!" Someone in the crowd yelled, others joining in and yelling themselves.

But that quickly stopped when Erza commanded them to be silent. "…He's in the back, in the infirmary." She answered as she crossed her arms, Laxus not saying anything more as he moved past.

Lucy tensed slighty as she watched him make his way through the crowd, but began to loosen up when she felt no bloodlust emanating from the slayer. However, she quickly became tense again when Natsu began to shout muffled words behind her, hobbling forward until Laxus stopped and stared at him.

The two stared daggers at each other before Natsu pointed at Laxus and began launched into a muffled rant, a rant that only confused everyone in the guild.

"Ah…he said "I can't accept winning three-against-one and I won't lose next time so you'd better be ready Laxus."" Lucy translated, drawing all eyes to her.

"Oi, Bunny Girl. How the heck did you understand that?" Gajeel questioned as he too walked over.

"I've interpreted much worse." She replied with a shrug.

"U-umm…Juvia was under the impression that Gajeel and everyone defeat Laxus." Juvia raised her hand and questioned, both Lucy and Gajeel shaking their heads in denial.

"No, not really. If anything I would say that the only reason we managed to come out on top was because his heart wasn't really in it." Lucy denied as Laxus began to move away.

"Ya, not really a victory in my book either. That guys a real monster and I can't help but be thankful for the fact that he didn't take part in the Phantom War." Gajeel added with a look of frustration.

Everyone watched Laxus leave for a brief moment, the only action the lighting dragon slayer taking in response to Natsu being to wave over his shoulder, before Erza clapped her hands and drew everyone's attention.

"Alright everyone! Shows over. Now let's get ready for the Fantasia parade!"

Lucy smiled for a time before frowning. "Well now what do I do? I haven't exactly had much experience in taking part in public events. So what exactly do I do now?"

"I think I can help you with that Princess." Loke answered her as he slung an arm around her shoulder. "Now that your light gem has recovered enough there's something in particular that you can do, something that I'm sure the others will enjoy immensely."

* * *

Natsu smiled and waved at the immense crowd that had gathered around their parade. He had taken part in quite a few of these parades but this was one of the best he had ever seen. Gramps had really pulled out all the stops this year. With nearly every person getting their own elaborately decorated float.

But the coolest part by far was the float that he was currently ridding on. The float itself wasn't exactly anything special, just a raised platform on which someone could stand, but what his partner was doing was awesome.

His blonde partner was currently standing alongside him waving out at the crowd in a very regal like manner but even that wasn't the coolest thing. Instead that belonged to what she was currently summoning. The entire parade was covered in small light elementals that danced among the crowds; apparently for lesser sprits Lucy could alter their appearances to a certain extent, as they themselves had no consciousness of their own, and Lucy had chosen to alter their shape into something everyone in Fairy Tail could appreciate.

Dancing amongst the crowd were tiny little tailed fairies, each one giggling as they flew and danced through the night sky.

"Awesome Luce! This has got to be the coolest Fantasia parade ever!" Natsu shouted in his excitement, flashing a toothy grin at his partner as she smiled back.

"Aye!...but couldn't you make them fishes instead? That would make them even cooler!" Happy added from his spot on top of the float, both his front paws waving at the passing crowd.

"I could…but wouldn't it not make sense as these are light based spirits as opposed to water based for fish?"

"It doesn't matter! Fish are justice!"

"Oh pipe down Happy; we can get you some fish later." Natsu commented as he shot yet another set of burning letters into the air.

The three were silent for another few minutes before Lucy broke the silence. "Hey Natsu…do you mind if I say something?" She asked with a nervous expression on her face.

"Of course I don't. Do you normally ask for permission to talk or is this just your weirdness acting up again?" Natsu joked.

"I don't believe it is but it might be…but…well…I just wanted to say…thanks for not dying back there." She said with a warm smile on her face, a smile that made Natsu's face heat up to an even higher temperature than she was normally running at.

"Uh…yea, you're welcome I guess. Geez, you really are strange aren't ya Lucy." Natsu laughed as he put his pointer finger in the air, Lucy and Happy following suit soon after.

_Yep, definitely the best Fantasia parade ever!_


	17. Solomon's Child

"Well that was a most certainly an interesting mission." Erza commented with a satisfied smile as they made their way through the streets of Magnolia on their way back to the guild hall.

"I cannot agree with you Erza, why would guild wizards be hired as servers in a restaurant?" Lucy refuted as she matched the red heads pace, giving up on her conversation with the nauseous dragon slayer that was catching a ride on Erza's luggage carriage.

"Eh, it wasn't that big of a deal was it? It was Gramp's old friend who ran the place after all." Gray commented with a shrug as he tossed his shirt on top of both Erza's cart as well as Natsu.

Lucy said nothing to that, but agreed with the maker mage's sentiments. The chef in charge of the restaurant they had been working at was a former member of the magic Council Yajima, and had apparently asked for powerful and famous mages to work in his restaurant during its opening week. While Lucy had no real emotional attachments to members of the Magic Council Mr. Yajima was always one of the more amiable of the master wizards who knew about Lucy's past. He had always treated her less like a tool and more like an actual person; something that had at first confused her but over time had learned to appreciate.

"Gray is correct. And besides, the uniforms were cute and that's all that really matters." Erza agreed as she forced open the guilds massive doors, all four walking through to see most of the guild members standing in the center of the hall, staring up at some sort of massive chart.

"Ah welcome back you guys." Mira greeted the moment she heard the door open, all five of them nodding in response.

"We're back Mira. But is something going on? Why is there a light pen chart in the middle of the guild?" Lucy questioned as she put Natsu down in front of a plate of food, Happy flying over to join his partner in eating everything that was laid out in front of them.

"It's a chart of all the dark guilds that exist in Fiore, or at least all the ones we know of." Mira explained with a serious expression as Reedus mentioned that it was he who created the chart. "They've become more active than ever as of late so we figured we might as well go over the facts in order to solidify the bounds between legal guilds."

Lucy waited patiently as Juvia explained the relationships between the dark guilds, making particular mention of the Baram Alliance and its core members. She of course knew all about the three major players in the dark side of magic, as she had been sent against some of their more powerful subsidiary guilds plenty of times during her time as Subject One, but from the looks on some of the others faces she could tell this was new information.

"So Eisenwald served under Oración Seis huh? Should we begin preparing for their retaliation then? Since we were heavily involved in their destruction?" Lucy questioned out loud as she continued to study the chart, noticing that a guild known as Raven Tail was draw with no connection to the others.

"Nah, they only have six members after all. How much of a threat could they be with so little members?" Wakaba commented with a chuckle, Macao nodding his head along with him.

But Mira turned to stare at all three of them, her eyes serious. "Even if there's only six they still make up one of the most powerful guilds in the world, we can't underestimate them."

You are correct Mira, and about those Oración Seis…we have been given the task to destroy them." The Master announced as he strolled into the front door, the various members standing around surprised at his statement.

Or at least most were, but both Lucy and Mira simply turned and bowed to the Elderly guild master at the same time. "Welcome back, Master." Both said, Mira turning to giggle at Lucy, who simply looked over at the others in confusion as she noted their exasperated expressions. "How was the conference?"

"Master, what do you mean?" Erza asked as she stared at the Wizard Saint with a serious expression.

"The Oración Seis' recent activity was the primary topic of the conference yesterday and we have decided we can no longer ignore their transgressions."

"Wait, so we have to do all the heavy lifting again right? Figures." Gray complained out loud with a sigh.

"Fairy Tail will be taking them on by ourselves?"

"No, this enemy is far too powerful this time. If Fairy Tail were to peruse them alone soon enough we would have the entire Baram Alliance out for our blood in no time. Which is why we have formed a…coalition of allied guilds in order to deal with them. Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and Cait Shelter will each send members to fight together and take out this threat!" the Master announced, Natsu leaping up from his seat with an egger grin on his face.

"Aw, common Gramps! We can handle it on our own. Hell, I could probably take them all out myself!" he announced before being slapped in the back of the head by an angry looking Erza.

"Fool! Did you not just listen to the Masters explanation? We cannot afford to have every dark guild in the land!" Erza chastised, Natsu not exactly looking satisfied but not complaining anymore.

"Indeed, and as such I have returned to choose the members we will send." The Master continued before starting right at the scarlet haired mage. "Erza, prepare your team, you leave within the hour."

"Of course sir! We won't let you down!" Erza announced with a salute as she moved to prepared yet another carriage.

"Awesome Luce! We got another fight lined up for us!" Natsu shouted as he drapped an arm around the blonde's shoulder, a wide grin on his face as he did so. "I'm fired up now!"

"I wouldn't be if I were you, we still have another carriage ride ahead of us." Lucy returned, smiling in pity when Natsu's face already started to turn green.

* * *

Sure enough as they slowly made their way in the direction of the meet up point Natsu was all but crippled each and every time they hit a pothole.

The five rode in mostly silence for a good portion of their trip, only talking about inconsequential things for the most part, up until Gray turned to Lucy with a serious expression.

"Lucy, do you mind if I ask you something personal?" Gray started, earning curious gazes from everyone present including Lucy.

"I suppose so, what is it Gray?"

Gray hesitated at first, glancing down to where Natsu was sprawled out before looking at Lucy once again. "Flame Brain here mentioned something to me after the whole battle of Fairy Tail thing that I wanted to confirm…is it true that you're afraid of fire?"

Lucy inadvertently tensed at the question, immediately noticing that no one present seemed surprised by Gray's question. "I see…does the whole guild know about that already?"

"Most of it I think, Gajeel wasn't exactly subtle in his explanation either." Erza added in, looking at Lucy with a concerned gaze."

"I see…well, to answer your question Gray, yes I do have a fear of fire." Lucy returned with a sad smile of her own. "after the…"events" in my past I cannot help but be reminded of that fateful day every time I see large quantities of fire. I can handle smaller amounts, like candles of bonfires, but when I see too much I just…kind of loose it. It was by exploiting that weakness of mine that Jose was able to take control of Dragon Lucy during the war."

"I see…then I will endeavor to remember as such when I use my Flame Empress armor." Erza eventually said as she placed an armored but comforting hand on the younger girls shoulder. "Thank you Lucy for sharing such a personal issue with us."

"It's no problem, if anything I would want people to know about it in case they have to put me down if I ever lose control again." Lucy admitted with a shrug, Natsu growling slightly through his nausea.

"I see…speaking of Dragon Lucy, I wanted to ask you if you had any experience fighting against the Oración Seis. We need whatever information we can gather in order to fight against these foes effectively." Erza continued, as she crossed her arms and frowned in concentration.

However, Lucy quickly shook her head in denial. "No I'm afraid not. Most of my missions against dark guilds back during those days were spent fighting against those guilds that served under Tartaros and even if I did attack something that had to do with Oración Seis it would have only been one of their servant guilds, not the six themselves."

"Well, nothing wrong with going in blind. Besides, our team won't have any trouble dealing with anything they throw at us." Gray commented with shrug.

"While that may be true, as this is the first meeting between ourselves and the allied guilds we must ensure proper cooperation between our own team first if we are to have any chance of success." Erza declared as Happy jumped up.

"There it is! It's the meeting point!" the cat shouted as a mansion with a heart motif came into view.

Walking into the dark building, Lucy couldn't help but look around at the décor and frown slightly. "This is certainly a…interesting residence."

"Master informed me that this building is the second home of Blue Pegasus' Master Bob." Erza replied as the heart shaped lights began to turn on in response to their presence.

"Him huh…I can't really stand him." Gray commented with a shudder.

"Now, now, don't say that. Despite what you'd think he is a very skilled wizard." Erza replied with a strange smile.

"Wh-when are we gonna get there?" Natsu groggily commented from the floor, the dragon slayer having collapsed only seconds after entering the building.

"…Erza? Is Natsu attempting to make a joke? I can't tell on this one." Lucy turned to ask her older compatriot, the scarlet haired mage watching them with a complicated expression.

But before anyone could say anything three new voices began to call out.

"Yes! They have arrived."

"Arrived!"

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Welcome!" "Welcome!"

"Fairy!" "Fairy!"

"Tail" "Tail!"

"Members!" All three called out at once, a spotlight turning on at the top of the stares to reveal three figures. "We've been expecting you!"

"…I can't understand what's happening." Lucy commented as she pushed her mind to its limits in a vain attempt to understand the current situation.

"We…are the Blue Pegasus'…specially-selected members." The three figures continued on in turn, completely ignoring Lucy's confusion. "The Trimens!"

"Hundred Nights, Hibiki!" the one with light brown hair introduced, followed by the blonde haired boy and the dark skinned man.

"Holy Night, Eve!"

"Still Night, Ren."

"Ah…nice to meet you." Lucy eventually replied, her mind finally registering that they had introduced themselves as Blue Pegasus mages, meaning that despite their theatrics they were allies.

"Ah Erza, the stories of your beauty precede you." Hibiki continued on, completely ignoring Lucy's introduction and Gray's shocked cries. As the ice mage had realized his shirt had vanished at some point.

"It is a pleasure to met you, Titania." Eve added on as he bowed, Ren moving to place a hand on the scarlet haired mages shoulder and point her to a corner of the hall.

"Please, come this way." He stated as the other two somehow moved a massive couch into said corner with little to no effort.

 _Was that strength magic?_ Lucy questioned through narrowed eyes as the Eve and Hibiki continued to offer her refreshments. However, her thoughts were interrupted when Ren moved to stand behind her, placing a hand around her waist.

"Please, have a seat, too…oh wow, your almost too cute." He commented as he led Lucy over to the couch as well.

"Oh? I wasn't aware that it was possible for something to be overly cute. Thank you for letting me know." Lucy replied with the courtesy that her mother had taught her, Ren turning his head away and sliding an orange drink in front of her. "I-I didn't make it for you, just so we're clear."

"…then perhaps you should give it to who you intended it to be for?" Lucy replied after a second, her brain beginning to fall behind once again.

But before she could make sense of the situation Hibiki stood before them with a confident smile, the air around him practically sparkling. "You two must be exhausted after your long journey. Feel free to spend the night…with us." He offered, the other two following his lead a second later.

"…Before you ask Lucy, this situation is outside my expertise as well." Erza cut off her blonde companion, Lucy's mouth open and mere seconds away from asking for help.

"All right, now…give the girls a break boys." A new voice called out, a voice so smooth that Lucy couldn't help but feel shivers down her spine.

"Sir Ichiya! Of course."

"I-Ichiya?!" Erza parroted. Her voice tense with fear for the first time since the Tower of Heaven.

"It's been a long time, Ms. Erza." The voice continued, the sound growing louder and echoing from the top of the stairs.

"I-I never imagined that you would be participating…"

"Oh how I've missed you, my honey. I Live for you!...Glimmer" Ichiya declared as he revealed himself.

"wha…my honey!" Happy cried out as everyone looked to Erza, seeing the woman all but frozen in place.

"A most unexpected…reunion! Oh yes. Oh yes. Oh yes!" Ichiya continued as he slid down the railing, the Trimen parroting each portion of his sentence as the tiny mage landed gracefully at the bottom.

"Happy, please help me. Is this supposed to be some sort of performance or something similar in nature? I can't even identify what happening using Dragon Lucy's knowledge." Lucy desperately sought out help from the cat, Happy simply shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head.

"We had no idea she was your girlfriend, Sir Ichiya! Please forgive our rudeness." The Trimen apologized with a bow, their actions seemingly waking Erza up from her shocked state.

"I deny that with all my might!" Erza screamed with such force that Lucy inadvertently took a step back, Dragon Lucy's awareness increasing in case of attack.

However Ichiya either ignored her outburst or simply decided to take it in stride, turning to the Trimen with a serious expression. "Clean up! They're not here to visit!" the three mages instantly moving to obey with a "Yes Boss!"

"They're so inconsistent with their jokes…even Lucy is better." Happy sighed from Lucy's side.

"I have heard many things about you…Ms. Erza…Ms. Lucy…and others." Ichiya continued as he pointed at the each in turn before sniffing loudly. "Wonderful parfum!"

"…Erza…my subconscious defenses are become more and more aware as he continues. Is this what Mira described as a woman's instincts?" Lucy questioned quietly as she took another step back, Erza mirroring her look of disgust.

"It is…while I can't stand being around him either; he is still a powerful wizard."

"Listen up, you crappy Blue Pegasus pretty boys! You'd be wise to keep your paws off the ladies, we clear?...Oi Natsu, you say something too. They're hitting on Lucy after all." Gray shouted out before turning to the dragon slayer at his side.

"C-cant…too nauseous."

"Ah right…you men may leave now." Ichiya replied in a cold tone, something that only seemed to piss off the ice make mage, the Trimen only adding on when they thanked him for coming.

"Tch…can't believe they sent us a bunch of perverts. Are you even serious about this job?"

"Care to find out?" Ren challenged with a confident smirk.

That got Natsu's attention, the fire mage jumping up with a cocky grin of his own. "A fight? Lemme join in too!"

"Enough all of you! We haven't come here to fight." Erza commanded seconds before sending Ichiya flying towards the door with a punch, the short mage apparently having invaded her personal space.

However he never struck the ground, as a silhouette in the door caught him and proceeded to freeze his head in ice. "Such a pathetic "How-do-you-do."…are you trying to pick a fight with Lamia Scale?" the figure called out as they stepped inside, reveling themselves to be a young man that Lucy had a vague recollection of seeing before.

"…You're here?" Gray called out in surprise, the man turning his attention on the ice make mage.

"Gray!" the man returned with equal amounts of surprise.

"Oh hey! So you joined a guild too?" Natsu added in, the man scoffing before sending Ichiya flying.

"What do you think you're doing?" Gray challenged, the man simply meeting his gaze evenly.

"Don't get it wrong Gray, he attacked me."

"How dare you attack our leader!? You're horrible. All you men should just leave!" the Trimen called out in anger.

"Oh my, but there happens to be a women her too, you know." Another familiar voice called out as the carpet underneath Lucy began to rise, the blonde mage quickly stepping away with little difficulty.

Lucy watched as a woman with pink hair walked into the room, smiling confidently at Lucy. "What a surprise, to think you managed to dodge my attack after so long. But you could say as expected of one who fought against me on equal ground."

"…Who are you?" Lucy called out in an even tone, not comprehending what she had done to warrant an attack.

However from the way the woman reeled back Lucy couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. "How dare you! I cannot believe you have forgotten your battle with Sherry Blendy!...although perhaps that is only natural, I have been transformed through the power of love after all."

"…Ah, I remember now…you uh…look well I suppose." Lucy finally connected to dots, feeling somewhat bad about forgetting about the two opponents.

"Hmph…I can never love you." Sherry continued as the tension in the room continued to grow.

However it quickly dissipated when a powerful magical signature walked through the door and slammed a staff against the carpet. "Enough! We are here to unite and destroy the Oración Seis. This is no time to fight amongst ourselves!" the man called out in a powerful voice.

"Of course Jura." Lyon apologized, Lucy recognizing the name as another member of the wizard saints, a man who wielded earth magic if she recalled correctly.

"…Now that three of the guilds have gathered we only must wait for Cait Shelter's members to arrive." Jura continued as he strolled into the hall.

"Actually…from what I've heard that guild is only sending a single person to fight alongside us." Ichiya announced from atop Erza's spear.

"Only one? They're sending a single person for such a dangerous mission?" Gray cried out in surprise.

"They must be either very powerful or simply ignorant of our foes." Lucy quietly added as she heard footsteps approaching. However, before she could turn to look the sound of someone falling echoed through the hall along with a effeminate sound of surprise.

All eyes in the building turned to see a young blue haired girl slowly rise from the ground, dusting off her dress with a pinkish hue to her cheeks.

"O-ouch…" they murmured as they looked up, only to realize that everyone was now staring at them. "U-umm…I'm sorry I'm so late. I'm from the Cait Shelter Guild. My name is Wendy Marvell. It's nice to meet you all!" The girl introduced herself with a smile, the others reacting with either surprise or disbelief.

Lucy however reacted in an entirely different manner. After the last few months, having been exposed to both Natsu's and Gajeel's magic's, she had gained an understanding of how other slayers magic felt. And right now Lucy could feel a very similar magic emanating from the young girl.

 _Another slayer? Mom never mentioned that there would be so many…I wonder if she knew about this?_ Lucy couldn't help but think as she smiled and strolled forward.

"It's nice to meet you Wendy. My name is Lucy. I look forward to working with you." She replied as she offered her hand. The young slayer looking surprised at first before clasping Lucy's hand with an ecstatic expression.

"Y-yes! Same here!"

"Hmph…for Cait Shelter to send such a young child by herself. What could they be thinking?" Sherry scoffed.

"Oh but she isn't alone you gaudy woman." A high pitched voice called out, a white cat wearing a dress walking out from behind Wendy's dress to glare up at Lucy. "And you, stop holding Wendy's hand! Who knows what terrible habits of yours are rubbing off on her."

"Ah…sorry." Lucy apologized as she backed away.

"C-Carla! You can't say that to our allies! And why did you follow me?" Wendy cried out in surprise, the white cat staring at her with a serious expression.

"Of course. I would never be able to rest easy if I let you go all alone." Carla continued before glancing at Happy and turning her head away in distaste, Happy reeling back in shock as she did so before running over to Lucy's leg.

"Hey Lucy. Can you go give her my fish? Please?"

"Umm…I can, but I don't think I will have the opportunity for awhile."

"U-umm everyone, I can't fight at all, but I can use all kinds of helpful support magic…so…so please don't leave me out of the group…" Wendy cried out, Carla instantly turning to reprimand her.

"That timid attitude is why people look down on you! Quite being so quick to apologize!"

"I-I'm sorry…"

"My apologies. I was a little surprised, but I didn't mean to offend you. It's a pleasure to meet you Wendy." Erza greeted the blue haired girl with a smile.

 _Looks like Erza noticed something strange about her as well. What about Natsu?...no nothing._ Lucy thought with a sigh as she looked over at her oblivious partner, the pink haired slayer watching as Wendy was lead away to the couch that had given Lucy a headache only minutes ago.

"Now then…as it appears everyone is here, allow me to explain the operation. First we, Blue Pegasus, have determined that the six members have all gathered within the…toilet, please excuse me." Ichiya began before sliding away into one of the nearby rooms, only to reappear a few minutes later.

"To the north lies the enormous Worth Woodsea and it is said that the ancients sealed a powerful magic deep within its tangled branches. A magic known as…Nirvana!"

"Awesome…but do you think you could explain all of this without the poses?" Gray commented with a tired expression.

"Hmph…I've never heard of it." Lyon commented.

"Have you heard of it, Master Jura?" Sherry asked the wizard saint, only receiving a shake of the head in response.

"All we know is that it as a powerfully destructive magic, so destructive that it had to be sealed away by the mages who created it. But we can't determine exactly what kind of magic it was." Hibiki continued to explain, the other Trimen nodding along. "We can assume that as the Oración Seis has gathered here in order to obtain Nirvana."

"To prevent that from happening we must destroy Oración Seis." Ichiya finished, the four of them striking yet another pose as he did so.

"Despite our numerical advantage we cannot afford to take them lightly, as each of the six members are said to be incredibly powerful." Hibiki continued on as he activated his archive magic and proceeded to explain the details of each and every member of the opposing guild. An amount of information that was almost nothing compared to what they needed to know.

 _This is bad; we're going into this with almost nothing confirmed about our foes._ Lucy couldn't help but complain as the image shifted to a man that Hibiki introduced as the leader of the dark guild, a man by the name of Brain.  _But why does that man look so familiar?_

"As each member is powerful enough to take out an entire guild by themselves we must use our numeric advantage to overwhelm them one by one."

"U-umm…please don't take me into account. Fighting isn't really my thing." Wendy begged in a slight panic.

"Never fear. There is more to our operation than just fighting." Ichiya went on to explain, Hibiki conjuring another image in response.

"Once we discover and manage to make them gather in their base of operations Blue Pegasus will use its pride and joy, the Christina, to bomb them into oblivion."

"Everyone! No matter what, do not engage these opponents alone. Ensure that you have at least two people alongside you when you challenge these mages. For they far too strong to face as individuals."

"All right! I'm fired up now!" Natsu announced before breaking down the door and sprinting into the daylight. "I'm gonna take on all six of you jerks by myself!"

"Ah…Natsu wasn't listening again." Lucy commented as she walked out of the mansion, Erza, Gray and Happy right behind her.

"That fool…when I get my hands on him." Erza growled with a furious look in her eyes.

"Well, that's Natsu for you." Happy giggled.

"…We have no choice. Gray, Lucy, we're going after him!" Erza shouted as she started to follow after the sprinting slayer.

"Urgh…that idiot!" "Understood."Gray and Lucy replied as they too followed after their leader, Happy sticking back with Wendy and Carla for reasons Lucy couldn't identify.

However as time went on and their group continued to gather up again Lucy noticed something strange.  _Ichiya and Jura are missing…did they get lost?_

"All right! I can see the Woodsea right over there!" Natsu shouted excitedly as he pointed at what could only be described as a sea of trees.

"Natsu! Stop running ahead you fool!" Erza chastised, Natsu turning around to grin smugly at her.

"You hate the idea of me one-upping you that much Erza?"

"You dare…YOU DARE!" Erza all but screamed, shocking the pink haired slayer so much that he inadvertently jumped off the cliff, Lucy and the others following after him in a much safer way.

"Gray…have you noticed?" Lucy heard Erza murmur, the Ice make mage nodding in response without breaking his stride.

"ya…not sure exactly what it is, but something definitely feels off here."

"The air feels darker somehow." Lucy added, the other two nodding in agreement.

"Don't let your guard down Sherry!" "Right." The two nearby Lamia Scale members warned as they studied the woods as well.

"It wasn't until they reached a clearing that Natsu finally slowed, something moving in between him and the sun and grabbing his attention. Above their heads was a slow moving airship, the airship that Lucy could only assume was the Christina based off its Pegasus design philosophy.

"I see…so that's the magic bomber, Christina." Erza murmured, confirming Lucy's suspicions.

"Whoa…that's so cool!" Natsu shouted out as the ship passed them, making its way deeper into the forest.

"Alright, let us split off and begin searching for their base of operations. Mission…star-." Erza began to announce before being interrupted by a massive explosion centered on the airship.

"The Christina! They've…shot her down!" Hibiki shouted as the airship crashed into the forest, the ground shaking at the impact.

"What's going on? How could they possibly know about the Christina already?" Lyon shouted as six figures emerged from the flames, five grinning confidently while one remained asleep.

"This is…the Oración Seis." Lucy quietly murmured as the two sides faced off, holding out her left hand in preparation for summoning.

"Hmph…lowly maggots, all swarming together." Brain scoffed as he glared at them.

"Too bad, we know exactly what you have in mind." Angel mocked as two strange blue figures danced around her.

"We even took care of Jura and Ichiya already!" "Whadya think of that?" The two figures continued to mock, their mouths not moving as they spoke.

"What? That can't be?" Lyon cried out in shock as the Cobra's grin continued to grow crueler.

"Your flustered…I can hear it. Or at least I can hear it from most of you." He commented before glaring at Lucy. "You're pretty quiet for someone who just lost their trump card."

 _I don't recall saying anything._ Lucy thought in confusion as she drew her bow.

"Leave it alone Cobra, the quicker we finish off these people the quicker the job gets done." Racer added ion in a neutral tone.

"Money gives one strength! Yes! Let me give you a tip: money is everything in this world and..." Hoteye started to monologue before being interrupted by both Cobra and Racer.

"I never imagined that you would show yourselves to us first…but I suppose this does save us the trouble of tracking you down." Erza commented as her magical energy swelled in response to her fighting spirit.

Almost immediately after Erza finished both Gray and Natsu raced in, clearly eager for the fight. But before either could do anything they were attacked by Racer at such speeds that even Lucy couldn't make out exactly what happened.

"Natsu, Gray!" Lucy called out at the same time as another her did, the other her turning to her in preparation to attack. However Lucy's instincts immediately kicked in as she dropped to the ground in order to avoid the other her arrows.

 _Is this copy magic?...no, doesn't matter. I have to win and help the others._ Lucy decided as she gave control over her limbs to Dragon Lucy. Almost immediately the world seemed to slow down as her subconscious defender analyzed and determined the best course of action. A course of action that Lucy agreed with.

If someone was trying to hit you with arrows then just stay close enough that they couldn't manage that.

Dragon Lucy instantly maneuvered Lucy's body into an even closer range while at the same time summoning a lesser shadow elemental to attack. She had never used her shadows in combat before but if this spell was anything like what she expected then her attack should take her doppelganger by surprise.

Within seconds the shadows underneath the false-Lucy's feet became thicker and darker, latching onto her legs and binding her in place. Taking advantage of the opening this provided, Dragon Lucy lashed out with her hand, intending to destroy the bow her opponent was using.

But contrary to both Lucy's predictions the other Lucy remained confident as light burst into existence right over her head. The lesser shadow Elemental vanishing back into its own realm.

 _Warning! Target able to copy magic formulas in addition to appearance! Threat level elevated._ Dragon Lucy declared as it prepared to summon an even more powerful elemental. However, before it could even begin to open the gate Lucy's body was struck by a powerful blow, a blow so strong and so fast that Lucy hadn't even registered being hit until she was rolling across the ground.

 _What just…_ Lucy tried to make sense of the situation as she looked up, only for her mind to become even more confused as she did so. Every single member of their team was lying on the ground, beaten and bruised while the Oración Seis stood to the side, smiling down at them with mocking grins.

"Pathetic trash. Prepare to be no more." Brain called out as he raised his staff, a sickly green magic gathering around the sphere held within the skulls mouth.

"T-this magic power…the air itself is shuddering from it…this isn't good." Lucy hear Hibiki murmur from somewhere to her right, his voice sounding just as pained as Lucy felt.

 _He's right…I cannot allow him to cast that spell!_ Lucy decided as she once again disobeyed her mother's orders, cutting off her feeling of pain and rising to her feet with a furious glare.

"Hoh? So one of the trash still can move? Very well, then you shall taste my  **Dark Rond-**!" Brain started to chant before his eyes went wide in shock and the spell dissipated.

"What's wrong Brain?" Lucy could hear Racer question, the other members of the dark guild turning to their leader.

"Why'd you stop the spell?" Cobra added with an equally as confused face.

 _I don't know what's going on but I can't afford to miss this opportunity._ Lucy decided as she prepared to summon a greater spirit and turn over her body completely to the furious dragon within her mind.

But all her thoughts were stopped when Brain continued. "It can't be…Subject One."

Lucy's body froze at the mention of her designation, her mind going into the same panic addled state it did when Jose mentioned her true name.

"There's no doubt about it. That ability to shrug off pain, that chilling killing intent. That is indeed Subject One.

"Subject…One?" Lucy heard Hibiki mutter in confusion but she couldn't afford to take her eyes off of Brain. How? How could yet another person know the truth about her. Everyone who was supposed to know of her origins should have perished that fire filled night.

"To think that we would meet her in a place like this…with Nirvana nearly in our grasp…this is quite the find… **Come!** " Brain shouted as he brandished his staff, a green tendril of magic lashing out and wrapping around Lucy's body faster than she could react.

"What the hell do you bastards think you're doing? Let Luce Go!" Natsu screamed out as he struggled to stand, Gray and Erza following suit. However none of them were able to move, as within seconds the land beneath their feet turned soft and began to collapse in on itself.

 _I can't dispel this!_ Lucy managed to determine as the magic lifted her into the air, the others crying out in surprise as she sailed away from them.  _The only choice is to…_ But that was all Lucy was able to think as her body and mind vanished into the black magic

* * *

Natsu watched in horror as his blonde Partner and Happy, having grabbed onto the unsuspecting elemental mage seconds before, vanished into thin air. "You Bastards! I'll kill you!" He shouted as his flames exploded outward only to be consumed by the churning earth.

"I've no business with you any longer. Begone!  **Dark Rondo!** " He heard Brain shout, the dark magic that had been put on hold now racing directly at them.

"Ms. Wendy, look out!" Natsu heard Hibiki shout, the Pegasus diving to cover the young blue haired girl as the magic approached.

However, none of the magic managed to hit its mark, as Jura ran forward and waved his hand through the air. " **Iron Rock Wall!** " the Wizard saint called out, pillars of hardened earth rising to absorb the attack.

But as the dust cleared and Natsu rose back up he was anything but happy with still being alive and intact. "Damn it, Happy! Luce! Where are you guys!" but it was already too late, the Oración Seis having already vanished.

"They beat us big-time." Ren groaned as he stood, Eve nodding in agreement.

"They're too strong. We never stood a chance."

"The Oración Seis…they're an unbelievable group!" Lyon murmured in amazement, summarizing the entire group's feelings with that one sentence.

"Indeed, and due to the woman's ability to peer into minds they have even destroyed the Christina. They knew everything about our mission before we even began." Jura commented with obvious distaste.

"Regardless, I'm glad you're ok Jura." Lyon said as he limped over, the Wizard Saint shaking his head in response.

"No, I almost didn't make it. It was only due to Sir Ichiya's painkiller parfum that I am able to remain standing now."

"Indeed, now then everyone. Please partake in my painkiller parfum as well!" Ichiya shouted as he struck yet another pose and popped open a vial. Within seconds Natsu's sore and beaten body was no longer bothering him and he was able to stand without any difficulty.

But that didn't change the panic and fury he was feeling inside. "How dare those bastards run off with Lucy and Happy! Damn it, where are you? Where did you go, you bastards!" He shouted as he began to run off into the woods…only to be stopped when someone yanked on his scarf.

"Honestly now…calm down, you buffoon." Carla scoffed as she hovered just off the ground.

"Wings…she has wings…the cat is flying…wow!" The others muttered as Carla turned to face them with a proud grin on her face.

"This is Aera magic, but it's hardly surprising that you would have never seen it before."

"…You're just copying Happy." Natsu pouted from the ground.

"W-what was that?" Carla cried out indignantly before Wendy could appease her.

"C-Carla don't be rude…b-but I'm worried about Ms. Lucy and Happy…I…I hope they're ok."

"That does not matter now; we cannot fight against these foes using haphazard methods." Carla warned before turning to Erza. "And besides…we still have wounded we must deal with."

Natsu finally noticed the pain Erza continued to remain in, a spot on her arm beginning to turn purple as something infected the skin. "Oi, Erza! You ok?" Natsu shouted as he moved to inspect the wound, only receiving cries of pain in response.

"It appears that poison was injected into her bloodstream the moment the snake bit her." Carla commented as Erza slumped against a nearby tree.

"Do not worry, my honey, I shall alleviate your pain… **Painkiller Parfum! Fragrance Increase!** " but before he could do anything Wendy ran up, waving her arms in panic.

"u-um…please don't, your painkiller will only aggravate the poison." She explained as she rushed over to Erza's side. "I…I can handle this!" she explained as a faint blue light began to emanate from her fingertips, the purple discoloring beginning to fade away.

"H-her power is more impressive than even my painkiller parfum? I-I am feeling as though my position in our group is being threatened."

"No way…she can use a lost magic?" Sherry murmured in shock as she watched Erza's arm begin to heal.

"Indeed, as Wendy here is a sky dragon slayer." Carla announced with pride, the others turning to gape at the now thoroughly flustered girl.

"C-Carla, please don't talk about me like that…it's embarrassing." She murmured, not without a hint of happiness in her own voice, as she continued to work.

"Awesome! So you're a dragon slayer too Wendy? That's so cool!" Natsu shouted out as he smiled up at the younger slayer, Wendy returning the gesture a few seconds later.

"Y-you're too kind…" she murmured as she withdrew her hands the poison now completely removed from the scarlet haired mage.

Carla nodded in satisfaction before turning to the group with a serious expression. "Now that the immediate danger has been dealt with, does anyone know why they would take Lucy as well as the Tomcat?"

"Well it didn't appear like they were after Happy, mostly just Lucy." Eve corrected as the others glanced down at the ground in thought.

"Brain referred to her as something…Subject One if I recall correctly. Does anyone recognize the name?" Lyon questioned, the others shaking their heads, before turning to Fairy Tail. "Well what about…I see, so you do know what this is about. Care to explain?" Lyon demanded as he noticed the miserable expressions on Natsu, Gray, and Erza.

Natsu couldn't help but grind his teeth and clench his hands at the mention of Lucy's past, but what could they possibly say? Lucy's past wasn't exactly so easy to talk about that they could take the time to talk about it while those bastards had her.

"Look," Gray started, drawing all eyes to him. "There's not much we can go into without her or the council's permission but let's go with that Lucy hasn't exactly had an easy life before meeting us. And if that Brainy bastard knows about her past then things just got a hell-of-a lot more complicated."

"I see…then do you have any understanding of why they would seek to kidnap her then?"

"No, but it can't be anything good. We need to rescue her as soon as possible."

"But we can't leave Erza here unconscious, and we don't even know where exactly they went. How are we supposed to track them down?" Sherry added in, concern for her rival clear on her face.

"A fair point Sherry…very well then, here is what we shall do." Jura began, drawing everyone's attention. "Hibiki, Wendy, and Carla are to remain here and protect Erza until she regains consciousness. The rest of us will break up into groups based off of who we work best with and search for their base of operations. Make sure to remain with your teammates. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" The group shouted before breaking away and beginning to run into the forest, Natsu leading the pack as usual. The fire dragon slayer didn't listen to Gray's words of warning, as his mind was already on his two lost partners.

_Damn it Luce, Happy, you'd better not do anything stupid until I can find you!_

* * *

When Lucy woke up, or more accurately when her interrupted consciousness began functioning once again, she was noticed that she was rolling forward into a ritual table. Righting herself quickly and trying to figure out what was happening, Lucy noticed that she was now trapped in a small cavern with all six of the Oración Seis standing before her. Nearly every single one staring down at her curiously with the exception of Brain, who looked ecstatic.

"Ow…hey you jerks! Why'd you kidnap us? When Natsu finds you he's gonna beat you senseless." Happy shouted from her side, Lucy noticing him for the first time, before being struck by the dark skinned mage.

"Happy!" Lucy cried out before glaring at the gathered mages. "What is this…what do you want with me?"

"Ya Brain, care to explain why this girl is apparently so important?" Racer commented from his seat.

"Does she have some relation to Nirvana or something?" Cobra asked while Angel simply shrugged in indifference.

"She doesn't seem all that special to me."

"Is she worth money? You're going to ransom her off to the highest bidder correct? Yes!" Hoteye added, only for Brain to chuckle and turn to his companions.

"No, her worth is something far less tangible than money. This child here is quite possibly the world's greatest magical assassin. Created in the Heartfilia institute to be neigh indestructible while at the same time a perfect killing machine. Their magnum opus; Subject One."

"Hoh? I remember you talking about that place…so this is one of those monsters huh?" Cobra commented with an impressed smirk, Lucy narrowing her eyes as Brain recounted her past.

"…How could you possibly know that? Everyone related to the institute should be long gone by now."

"Oh how sad…to think you have forgotten the very man who imparted you with the power to heal your own wounds."

"I don't know…!" Lucy started to deny before realizing exactly who he was, her mind going back to the florescent room that had caused her so much pain, the tan skinned researcher who had been the source of said pain.

"It appears that you've finally remembered me, I'm honored." Brain chuckled.

"Ok, so she's some assassin or something, but that still doesn't explain why you took her with us." Cobra continued as he crossed his arms and glared down at Lucy. "I think we should just deal with her right now. For some reason I can't hear her."

"No, you wouldn't be able to, as her subconscious is an entirely separate entity in and of itself. But think for a moment Cobra, what will Nirvana do to someone who pretends to walk in the light but has such a stained past." Brain continued, his grin growing even more devilish.

Cobra was silent for a moment before his eyes went wide and his own grin grew. "I see, so you plan to make her a pawn for our use then? Impressive, I can already hear the pain and fear her comrades will feel when we set her loose on them."

"Indeed…but the change will take some time and until then we must continue to look for Nirvana itself." Brain continued as he turned to the other five members. "Cobra, Angel, and Hoteye; begin searching for the location of the seal. Racer and Midnight will remain here with me until the change occurs."

"Alright you guys, guess we'd better get going." Cobra sighed as he stroked his snake, the purple reptile coiling round him in response.

"You boys want to make this interesting? The first one to find the seal gets…"

"One Million Jewel! Now you're on! Yes!" Angel started to say before being interrupted by Hoteye.

"Lucy…do you have any idea what's going on?" Happy quietly asked as three members of the dark guild walked out of the cavern.

"No...But I know I don't plan to stick around and find out." Lucy murmured as she readied herself for battle…only to cry out in agony as her entire body erupted into pain.

"You don't honestly expect me to just let you attack do you? So long as the weave remains under your skin you will remain at my mercy. Until your soul is stained just as black as ours." Brain mocked as his staff lighting up as another bout of pain assaulted Lucy's senses.

The time crawled past for Lucy as her body was occasionally wracked by immense pain before being forced to heal, using up her magic faster than she could regain it. She was vaguely aware of Happy holding onto her, calling out to her, but she couldn't answer him though the pain.

But as time went on Lucy became aware of something…more, something that sent nervous shivers down her spine. Slowly but surely something dark began to slither into her mind, a darkness, a rage that at first was just a feeling in the back of her mind but over time grew into a raging maelstrom consuming her mind.

"Oh? So it has finally begun then? Good." Brain said as he noticed tendrils of darkness leaking from the blonde's body, Happy crying out in shock and fear.

"What did you jerks do to Lucy? What's happening to her?" the blue cat cried out as he shook Lucy's leg and tried to wake her up, the light in Lucy's eyes beginning to fade.

"Nirvana has begun to work its magic, replacing the light within her with darkness." Brain laughed out loud as he held his hands aloft, almost as if he was in prayer. "Now Subject One! Remind the world of why people used to fear the name Heartfilia! Become as you were always meant to be through the power of the ancient darkness!"

And as Lucy's mind began to once again fall into the cold darkness that had once consumed her very being her thoughts turned to her team.  _Gray, Happy, Erza, Natsu…please be safe._

_._

_._

_._

_"Well now, this is certainly unexpected."_ The entity thought as its soul connected with the flesh it now found itself in.  _"This one would have never imagined that a thousand years later thou would once again live…and find thyself inside thy descendant."_ It chuckled to itself as it began to feel its nerves beginning to connect one after the other.  _"But despite This one's surprise this is still something that cannot be allowed. Thy descendant must take the throne before long, and thy time has long since past…so by what fools hand did this situation emerge from?"_

The entity extended its consciousness to the surrounding area to such a degree that it could feel the entirety of the Woodsea. It could feel the consciousness of each of its children, those who stood in the light as well as those who reveled in the darkness. And through their power and desires the situation became clear.

 _"This one sees…so some fool has sought out the power of twilight…and thy descendant's mind was weak to its effects…what a headache."_ It thought with a sigh, its magic beginning to suffuse the girl's body.  _"Thy descendant must regain control over her limbs before thy soul consumes her entirety…and if a Twilight construct has been sealed nearby thy path is clear…now to the situation at hand."_

* * *

Happy watched in shock as the shadows that had clung to Lucy were suddenly blown away by a magical force so beyond anything he had ever felt, even more powerful than Gramps. Slowly Lucy stood up, her head lowered and her eyes closed almost as if she was concentrating on something.

"L-Lucy?" Happy called out in fear but the blonde still didn't move.

"Excellent…once again the Oración Seis has grown even more powerful this day! Now go Subject One, go and destroy my enemies!" Brain laughed maniacally.

"Foolish child, you would dare to order a king?" Lucy murmured under her breath as the magic magical energy around her body took on a crimson hue, her eyes opening to reveal her iris's had turned red. "Thou shall feel the true might of one who has passed through the gate." Lucy murmured as she swiped her hand though the air, an immense amount of magic gathering directly underneath the tan skinned man. " **Tsukuyomi formula Thirty-Three.** " She murmured quietly as the golden light beneath Brain pieced through the ground, the ceiling, and the sky above.

"L-Lucy what are you?" Happy called out in shock, Lucy training to stare at the cat with cold red eyes.

"Hoh? Thy child knows of quite the interesting creature…a creature that This One has never seen before in thy rule." Lucy continued as she bent down to stare at Happy with a predatory smile, a smile so cruel that Happy couldn't help but take a step back from. "While I have the desire to deconstruct such a creature, this one cannot afford to anger thy descendant…so for now sleep, oh child of fairies, for thou ally comes for thee soon enough." Lucy murmured as she placed a finger right in front of Happy's forehead, the blue cat collapsing into unconsciousness the moment her finger met fur.

Walking out into the light of the day, the entity that had possessed Lucy smiled as the light warmed the body's skin. The magical energy that suffused the child's body continuing to alter her form to suit the entities own form. Lucy's hair changed from blonde to pure white, a white that seemed to shine from with. Her brown skirt and green top changed as well, transforming into a black dress that stole the light from her surroundings.

"Ah…one cannot underestimate the joy of tasting fresh air for the first time in a thousand years…now then; this one must search for the source of the seal." The entity decided with a sigh, wings of light appearing on her back and lifting her into the air. "But before that…this one must discipline the unruly children that fight nearby." And with that the entity released the full force of their authority.

* * *

In that moment the entire Woodsea was covered in an immense magical energy that smothered the sky itself. Dark guild members who were captured afterwards described it like the sky itself was trying to crush the life out of them, a level of power that put even the Wizard Saints to shame.

But one man in the Woodsea reacted differently to the magic, a man who had been hiding within its trees in order to avoid pursuit from the Magic Council's Enforcer Unit. A man who had once been given the title of Wizard Saint himself.

Jellal's eyes widened in shock as the magical energy pressed down on his mind, his head whipping around to stare the direction of the source. "It can't be…they can't be in the Woodsea as well! What are they doing here now?" He questioned to no one in particular as the magical energy dissipated. "But there's no doubt about it, this magical energy is her's but somehow…twisted."

"Normally I wouldn't get involved. But if the person who saved my life is somehow in danger then I must go to her aid, in order to make up for what I have done to Fairy Tail in the past." He decided with a nod of the head, his feet beginning to carry him deeper into the Woodsea.

* * *

Natsu arrived at the place cave where Happy had been calling out for him to see a scene he couldn't figure out. He could see the Brain guy pounded into the ground, his body smoking slightly from whatever had hit him. In another corner of the room he could see the guy still sleeping on the carpet, apparently undisturbed by whatever had attacked his boss. He could see Happy, lying on the ground unconscious but relatively unharmed.

But the final thing he hoped to see wasn't anywhere in sight. Neither a hide nor hair of his blonde partner in sight no matter where he looked.

"OIIII! LUCCCEEE! Where are you?!" Natsu shouted as he picked up Happy and ran back outside, his eyes darting around looking for any sign of Lucy, only to find waterfalls in his surroundings. "Damn it…I want to go after Luce, but Happy needs Wendy's help...damn it!" Natsu cursed as he began to make his way back to where Wendy was. His partner would just have to wait.

Avoiding the fight between Gray and Racer, Natsu started to make his way back to the spot that they had left Erza, Hibiki sending a map directly into his mind as he got closer until he eventually found the four members of their little coalition waiting.

"Natsu! Your back!" Wendy cried out in happiness as Natsu burst though a patch of bushes with Happy in his hands. "But…where's Ms. Lucy?"

"I couldn't find her, she wasn't there." Natsu grimly announced as he placed Happy alongside the still sleeping Erza.

Wendy's hands shot to her mouth as tears formed in the corner of her eyes. "Oh no…y-you don't think…"

"No I don't, I didn't see any blood in the cave so I can't really say. But Lucy's tougher than that."

"…I've been trying to get in contact with her using my Archive magic but something's been interfering with my connection. Wherever she is, she's on her own for now." Hibiki added with a frown on his face, his fingers dancing along his golden keyboard as he maintained the connection.

"You don't think that this has anything to do with that weird magic we felt earlier do you?" Wendy asked as her magic washed over the unconscious cat.

"It might, I can't even begin to imagine what caused such a magical explosion. And I suppose that with that amount of ethernano in the air it's possible my longer range communications have been disturbed." Hibiki admitted with a shrug, his fingers never stopping.

But any further discussion stopped a few seconds later, as Happy groaned and rubbed his eyes. "Happy! You ok little buddy?" Natsu asked as he leaned in.

"N-Natsu…? Where…?" Happy groaned for a second before seeming to realize what was happening and jumping up with fear in his eyes. "Natsu! Lucy! She…she…!"

"What? What happened Happy? Do you know where Luce went?"

"She…she turned evil." Happy managed to say before crying.

"No! We lost her to Nirvana?" Hibiki shouted, all eyes turning to him.

"What the hell are you talking about? What do you know about Nirvana that the rest of us don't?" Natsu growled, Hibiki sighing before beginning to explain everything he knew about the powerful magic. From the fact that it required a long time to activate to the fact that it was capable of switching the alignment in people's hearts regardless of their own will.

"Wait…so Luces's against us now just because of this stupid spell?" Natsu growled in anger, the area beginning to heat up in response to his anger.

"It's possible, I can't say for certain without knowing more about the person in question."

"Well we'd better hope that she's not against us. Or we might never be able to stop them." Natsu quietly warned, the others inadvertently gulping in fear.

But it was then, while each of them considered just exactly how far up the creek without a paddle they were, that the sky to the south of them erupted into a black light, the ground shaking like the world was coming to an end.


	18. Solomon's Child

The girl that had once been Lucy skipped confidently through the forest, humming a tune that had not been heard on the face of Earthland in over five hundred years. Despite the severity of the situation, and the risk the original consciousness was in, the entity couldn't help but feel a sense of elation at seeing everything it had taken for granted back when it had been alive.

The dew that gathered on the tip of a leaf, the sunlight filtering through the trees, the moss gathering on the stones at its feet, everything that most would never spare a second glace to were things that the entity couldn't help but take a sense of pleasure in now that it was once again in living flesh.

It would be better if the forest creatures would approach to pay their respects to a ruler but due to It's sheer magical energy the forest critters remained wary of it. But at the very least through its magical energy it was able to detect their presences and at least take comfort in knowing that they were nearby.

And it was through this magic that the entity detected a magical presence approaching her physical manifestation, a magical signature that felt quite familiar to its flesh.

"Thou need not hide, Knight. This one has no intention of harming thee at this time." The entity commanded in a voice full of authority, the trees themselves parting in response to its regal presence to reveal a tense but resolute looking blue haired man staring at its flesh.

"You are...Lucy of Fairy Tail?...No, your something else, but you're magical signature is indeed Lucy's...so then, who exactly are you?" Jellal questioned as he took a combat stance, the sheer magical energy emanating from the white haired girl so powerful that his body was beginning to shake.

"Hmmmm…thou are both correct and incorrect Knight. This one is but a remnant that have taken this flesh for thyself. But this flesh is indeed the flesh of "Lucy of Fairy Tail."" Lucy giggled, completely ignoring the threat that Jellal would represent to most. "But this one must ask, why does thou care for whether this flesh is hers or not? Were thou not one who sought to end both her and one of her knights? Have thou come here to seek vengeance?"

"No, I haven't come here to kill her, rather it's the I don't understand why the spirit who stole her body would care, but I owe that child my life. She saved me during the events of the Tower of Heaven along with her partner who freed my mind. And while I came to these woods to hide from my crimes I cannot ignore the plight you have put her in…and despite your power if I have to fight you to save her I will do so without hesitation."

The two stared at each other for a brief second, Jellal glaring at her while the entity simply smiled back, before Lucy began to giggle once again.

"Thy will is most impressive, Fallen Knight. But thou need not feel concern for this child. This one wishes for nothing more than to return her spirit to her form." The entity announced with a smile. "But in order to do so this one must first…unleash darkness upon this land."

"I see…then if it's all the same to you I would like to accompany you in order to ensure the truth of your words." Jellal continued, finally relaxing as much as possible despite the still overwhelming magical energy.

"Of course, This One would never deny a knight's pledge of loyalty. That is simply the duty of a king." The entity agreed with a smile, turning and continuing to skip farther into the forest, Jellal only hesitating for a second before following after the strange girl.

The two moved in silence for a way before Jellal turned to the strange crimson eyed girl. "Am I allowed to ask you a question being?" He asked, attempting to learn more about the strange entity that possessed Erza's comrade.

"Of course, this one would welcome the chance to speak to another after spending so long beyond the gate."

"Then answer me this. What exactly are you? I know exactly what magic the girl you now inhabit originally used and therefore know that she could never produce wings of light like you did earlier nor create such a powerful magical pressure like you did earlier. So how can you, a disembodied spirit, wield magic she cannot?"

"Ah yes, her magic. This child has done well; seeking out those who first forged the covenant. And to think that she would carry the favor of Ifrit himself…" The entity mused out loud before realizing that it had yet to answer the question. "But this one has no issue wielding magic that others would not be capable of. As this one is one who has moved to the other side of the gate and therefore learned the truth."

"…What do you mean the gate?" Jellal continued, the Entity staring at him with a shocked, almost hurt face.

"Truly? Have thy children truly fallen so low as to forget the truth of their strength?" It asked, sighing at Jellal's still confused look. "Very well, this one shall explain what little is allowed. The gate is the truth of magic, the source from which all thy strength flows."

"You mean…the source of all ethernano?!"

"Is that the term the children of today use for the truth?...never mind, it is indeed, a gate forged from the very truth of this world, or as this one's children referred to it as "The One Magic." The source of man's power to reshape the world."

Jellal couldn't help but stop as the entity's seemingly casual reveal of one of the fundamental truths that governed the planet.  _If this…thing knows something like that then what exactly is it?_ He couldn't help but think as the white haired girl stopped and narrowed her eyes, her gaze traveling upstream.

"…Is something wrong?"

"…It appears that a Magus intends to challenge the king."

"Oh my, to think you could feel me coming." Angel called out in surprise as she rounded the bend, a golden key in her hand. "Brain ordered us to stop you but and force you to return but it appears that your will is still your own. And I suppose that now all that's left is for you to simply be destroyed. And to think that you somehow found the Magic Council's most wanted, it's a shame that you have to die now."

"Thou are truly a foolish child…but if your desire is to engage this one then this one will simply deal with thou as necessary."

"Heh, you will try… **Open! Gate of the Twins; Gemini!** " Angel shouted as she swiped her key through the air, two blue figures appearing out of nowhere. "No matter how strong you are no one can fight against themselves and win. Now then dears, take this woman's form and force her into submission!"

However the blue creatures made no move, instead looking at each other in confusion while the Entity sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "Do thou understand nothing of your magic? The constellation of the twins cannot obtain more strength than their caster contains, and thou's partly levels of magic are hardly a match for this one." She sighed as she began to play with her hair, twirling it around her finger. "Surely thou have more power than this? Or did thy master not prepare thyself for what was to come?"

"…You…Bitch!" Angel cursed as she dismissed the twins and drew another key from her waist. "I refuse to lose to someone as weak willed as you! **Open! Gate of the Chisel, Open! Gate of the Ram; Aries!** " she screamed as two more celestial spirits appeared around her, the pink haired one rushing forward while the strange metallic ball transformed into a laser.

"How pointless… **Tsukuyomi…formula eleven.** " The entity murmured, swiping her hand a few times through the air and conjuring a golden runic circle around the two spirits. A second later an uncountable multitude of miniature spears of light around the two before all lashed forward and pierced the spirits before either could make a single move. "Surrender now, Magus. Before This One is forced to truly deal with thou."

"No…NO! It's not over yet!" Angel shouted as she held aloft a golden gem, the lacrima in her hand shining with light. "It simply means that I must break out the big guns. Oh ever shining light, manifest your champion before me. Come forth Gabriel!" She shouted, the light growing even stronger but with an almost…tainted feeling to it.

A second later the light vanished to reveal a blonde haired angel, a massive staff in one hand and a sword in the other. "…I apologize mortal, but the bindings on my soul prevent me from disobeying…we must fight." The angel declared as she brandished the staff.

But the Entity no longer cared what the elemental had to say, instead focusing on the emotions now ravaging her body. Emotions that were surfacing from the shattered soul of its host. The entity had a complete understanding of its host's body and what it had gone through, and as such understood exactly what was happening. It knew that Lucy considered herself to be emotionally damaged, her ability to feel having grown faint over the years, but in truth Lucy's emotions were simply contained within her draconic heart. All her love, her hate, her desires, and her fears; all were contained and fused together within her seal, waiting for the day that she released them.

But for now it was not Lucy who was in control of the body, and as such the Entity could feel the full extent of the cold fury that Lucy would have normally felt seeing an elemental bound in such a way.

"This one finally sees…so thou are indeed the one responsible for the death of the last holder of the Gem of Light." The Entity murmured quietly, her quiet rage causing her magical energy to manifest as a crimson outline around her form.

"Indeed I am…the foolish mage thought she could take me on despite the fact that she couldn't even summon a single elemental. That's why I so do love hunting down summoning mages, every single one believes themselves to be completely untouchable and the look on their faces when they are minutes away from death…its simply to die for." Angel taunted as Gabriel shot off beams of light at the two mages, Jellal having to dodge out of the way while the ones that were sent at Lucy's body simply twisted out of the way."

Even Jellal had had enough, despite his darkened past he could not stand to hear anymore. "If it's all the same to you spirit, I shall deal with this corrupt mage."

"No…this foe is this one's to deal with." The entity calmly refuted as they stepped forward, the crimson energy turning into pure darkness. "Thou believes that they are the destroyer of summoners? Then this one will test your title…Oh ever silent shadow; manifest your champion before me. Come forth Anzu. Oh ever shining light; manifest your champion before me. Come forth Michael." The Entity chanted two elementals appearing at her side

"I-It can't be…two elemental gates at once? The feedback should be too much for her to even move let alone conjure!" Angel shouted out in shock as both Loke and Anzu appeared next to the white haired Lucy, both staring at her in shock.

"Impossible…it can't be you!" Loke shouted out in just as much shock as Angel, Anzu not saying anything but his eyes going wide in surprise as well.

"Elementals…obey thy ancient pact and defend thy descendant." The Entity murmured as they flicked Lucy's wrist, a bow of light appearing next to her body, hovering in the air and aiming in the direction of her opponents.

Loke watched Lucy for a second more before turning to Gabriel with a complicated but firm expression. "Hello Gabriel, it's been a long time since we've seen each other…not since the days we worked under Karen right?"

"Michael…I cannot express how happy I am to see that you have found yourself a master who not only cares for you, but the master who descends from the pact." Gabriel answered with a sad smile of her own before a serious expression overcame her face. "But I cannot stop here, for the sake of my master I shall fight!"

"As will I…for the sake of our Master!" Loke returned as his own sword was covered in light, the two light elementals charging at each other with light.

But the entity wasn't done yet; it quickly noticed that Angel had realized its less than stellar position, the summoning mage clearly intending to flee, but it was for that exact reason that she had summoned Anzu. The moment that Angel tried to make a break for it the shadow spirit conjured powerful shadowy bindings that imprisoned the now panicking dark guild member.

"Is that truly all that thou have to show for thyself? Such a pity…" The Entity sighed as it gestured to the bow, its golden bowstring being pulled taunt to reveal a shadowy arrow. "Then allow this one to show you the true power of an elemental summoner." It declared as the bow flew into Lucy's hands.

Jellal watched in surprise as the shadows that consumed the arrow moved from the bow to Lucy's body, her body being outlined by the darkness that had been gathering around the arrow, said arrow now pointed directly at Angel's chest. " **Full Unison element…Eclipse Arrow.** " The Entity chanted before releasing said arrow, wrapping the entire surroundings in darkness.

And when the light returned nearly every tree in the surrounding area had vanished without a trace, Angel still alive, abet barely, lying on the ground a few feet away.

"Hoh? How impressive, to think that the child could survive my power…thou are truly meant for more than death here today." The Entity commented with a smile, both her elementals and the bow vanishing as if they had never been summoned. The entity strolled forward and gently grabbed the light lacrima from Angel's arm, staring down at it with the same expression that a mother used when staring down at their child. For a brief second Jellal simply watched the white haired Lucy stared down at the lacrima, but before long the gem cracked and shattered, vanishing into the light.

The Entity stood then and turned to Jellal with a satisfied smile, gesturing in the direction they needed to go. "Well then, oh knight, shall we continue on?"

"…You are quite a bit more merciless than the actual Lucy." Jellal commented with a sigh as they started to make their way even further.

"This one must disagree with you; I can be quite merciful to those who deserve mercy. And those who stand against this one feel thy wrath." The entity denied with a pout as it used Lucy's body to climb up a boulder. "But this one is confused, is that truly strange to thee? From this vessel's memories the guild known as "Fairy Tail" defends its children with a fury uncontested. If anything they have simply inherited this one's will."

Jellal couldn't help but smile sadly at that, his thoughts going back to the scarlet haired woman he had hurt so much over the years. "Perhaps you're right; I myself learned just how far Fairy Tail will go in order to defend their own."

The Entity stopped then staring at Jellal with a look similar to concern. "Ah yes, the time thou sought out the truth beyond death…twas foolish to seek out the truth beyond the gate in such a way. If anything thou should be thankful to the fairies, as they hath saved thou from the curse that ensnares those who seek the truth without this one's blood."

"What exactly are you referring to? A curse?" Jellal questioned, realizing that whatever this thing was that had possessed the blonde fairy it understood answers to questions that many had never even thought to ask. And anything that he could get out of it would be worth it.

"It is no longer of importance; thou must simply remember that the truth is not meant for beings such as thou." The Entity denied before sending a pointed look at Jellal. "And while this one appreciates a desire to learn thou should remember thou's place, a knight may not question the king."

"Ha…ha…I apologize, the scholar in me wanted just a little more to go on."

"Tis no issue, although this one shall pose a question to thou now in exchange." The Entity replied as the two entered a cave, the light fading for a second before the crimson eyed girl summoned a spirit of light to hover over their heads. "Why are thou here knight? This one can determine no reason for a magus of thou's strength to be hiding in nature."

Jellal stared down at the possessed mage with a disbelieving look for a moment before answering. "You do understand what I did correct? I betrayed Erza and the others, kept those who desired freedom in the very place they were enslaved in, and betrayed the Magic Council. The entire world believes me to be the very definition of a villain."

"Truly? Thy current kings are unable to properly determine that thou were under the effects of mental manipulation magic at the time?" The Entity questioned with a confused face, Jellal nodding in confirmation. "Hah…what a farce."

"Be that as it may, to the world at large I am one of the greatest traitors in Fiorian history. I came to this forest in order to hide from the authorities until I can determine a way to make up for my mistakes."

"Is that so…? Thou follow the same line of thought as thy child…then allow me to offer you the counsel of a king along with a gift that thou shall need in the near future." The entity declared as they stopped and turned to stare at Jellal. The light elemental casting shadows across her face making her crimson eyes all the more intimidating. "No matter what thou faces here, trust in the decisions of thy child and the fairies; they shall not lead you astray."

Immediately after finishing the Entity held out their hand, a bright white flame appearing in her hand. "From within your body This One can feel a powerful flame…the Flame of Rebuke if this one would guess a wager. Perhaps thou thought to use the flame to burn away both your sins and your body?" the Entity questioned in a coy manner, Jellal turning away as she continued. "But no matter, as you have the Flames of Rebuke we shall offer you this as well; The Flames of Clemency. A flame that grants mercy to those who truly feel regret for their actions." The Entity murmured with a regal authority before the flame jumped from her hand into Jellal's chest, his body heating up as the magical energy flowed through him. "Soon enough thou shall be faced with a choice; and when that time comes thou must have faith in the fire. While This One cannot fully know thy child's heart, I can tell that she would not hesitate to grant thou this flame."

"…And what exactly do you mean by that?" Jellal questioned as the white haired Lucy turned and began to walk away.

"Thou need not know now child, as interfering any more in the machinations of fate would go against this one's principles." The Entity refused to elaborate however as the two of them found themselves in a massive cavern, a massive tree in the center of the room glowing slightly as they approached. "And as this is thy destination the time for questions has past."

Jellal was silent as the crimson eyed girl walked confident up to the tree and placed a hand onto its ancient bark. But as the air became charged with magical energy Jellal realized exactly what was happening. He attempted to rush forward and stop the young mage but he was far too late, as beams of both light and shadow shot out of the tree, the ground rumbling as the tree vanished to be replaced by a strange tower.

"What are you doing? Do you understand what you have done?" Jellal shouted, the Entity turning to stare at Jellal with a curious expression.

"Thou truly has taken leave of thy senses if thou are asking this one that now. Thou should have long ago realized this one's destination by the magical energy in the air." The entity reprimanded as the tower continued to rise.

Jellal bit back his rebuttal as he glared at the ground. It was true, ever since they beat Angel he had felt the magical energy growing in the air, the powerful magic beginning to twist the fabric of reality, but Jellal had believed that whatever had taken control over the blonde mage wouldn't unseal such a powerful magic.

But before the blue haired mage could come up with some form of rebuttal a voice called out to the two of them, a voice that Jellal had both been dreading and desiring to hear at the same time.

"I-It…it can't be…J-Jellal?" Erza confused and shocked voice asked from behind them.

Jellal spun around to see Erza, her eyes wider than he had ever seen and her mouth open, her mind clearly not working properly after seeing him "E-Erza…" He muttered as he too tried to figure out something, anything, to say.

"Quite the impressive display, Knight of Scarlet, This One did not expect you to arrive so soon. As expected of thy descendants guardians." The Entity chuckled, startling both from their self imposed stupor.

"Jellal…how are you here? I…I thought that you fell at the tower." Erza eventually asked, her hands clenched at her side as she watched her fellow former slave warily.

"By all rights I should have, but I was saved by the wind your Lucy conjured before the tower collapsed." Jellal explained as he tried to keep his thoughts in order. "Erza, I understand what you want to say. But for now I need your help to save Lucy of Fairy Tail."

"Lucy? What do you mean Jellal? What have you done!?" Erza instantly began to glare at the former Wizard Saint, a blade appearing in her hand at her accusation.

"The Fallen Knight has done nothing to thy child. He simply escorted This One to thy destination." The Entity denied as the light behind them turned from black to white.

"Erza…this is Lucy." Jellal gestured to his white haired companion, The Entity performing a clumsy curtsey as he introduced her.

"But that…that can't be…is this what Nirvana did to her?"

"I don't know, all I know is that she came here to unseal this power." Jellal answered, the possessed Lucy crossing her arms and pouting slightly.

"This one has already mentioned this, but oh well…The power of twilight is necessary for thy goals. And as such the seal must be lifted to use its strength."

"I see…my Archive did inform me of another name that was once used for Nirvana, a name even more ancient than the Nirvit's who created it…tell me, Subject One, how is it possible that you know it's true name?" the three heard a cold voice ask, all three turning to see both Brain and Cobra approaching.

"Tis nothing difficult, as it is not inaccurate to say that This One was the one who named it originally." The Entity explained before narrowing her eyes and glaring at the tan skinned mage. "And do not forget thy place child; this one has no relation to the horrors that took place in that accursed laboratory."

"I see…then it appears that the power of Nirvana awakened something far more powerful than Subject One ever was." Brain mused out loud before brandishing his staff. "But that doesn't matter now. We of the Oración Seis require the power of Nirvana for ourselves and cannot allow someone or something to take it from us."

The tension in the room became almost tangible at that, Erza turning and brandishing her sword at the two dark guild members while Jellal prepared to use his Heavenly Body magic. However the person who had instigated the tension seemed completely oblivious to it, simply placing a finger on her chin and staring up into space.

"Hmmm…This One sees …then This One shall simply grant you control over this power." The Entity declared in a neutral tone of voice, all eyes turning to stare at her in shock.

"Lucy! What are you talking about? We came here to stop them from obtaining this power, not give it to them!" Erza shouted at the white haired girl, The Entity turning to her with an exasperated look.

"Thou speak of a purpose that This One cares nothing for. Thy own goals have no relation to the goals, and as such This One cares little for who claims this power so long as someone does so."

It was then that Brain began to laugh manically, offering his hand to the white haired girl. "I see, I see…then since we desire that power I ask that you fully awaken Nirvana so that we may claim its power."

"Thou need not request such a thing; this one has already awakened this ancient city after all." The Entity announced as the rumbling in the ground grew even worse, the earth under their feet beginning to crack apart and Lucy, Brain, and Cobra all rising into the air along with the tower.

"Yes! I can hear it! The sound of the future, the sound of the light collapsing into nothingness!" Cobra shouted as the light continued to pour out of the top of the tower

"Lucy!" The Entity heard Erza Scarlet call out, turning Lucy's crimson eyes on the worried woman and the blue haired knight that had been her companion before then.

"Scarlet Knight…Fallen Knight…do not concern thyselves. Soon all shall be righted." She murmured as the cave cracked away, the massive moving city rising from the ground to reveal Nirvana in all its ancient glory.

* * *

"At long last, I've obtained it! The ultimate weapon that will bring the light crashing down! The ultra-reversal magic: Nirvana!" Brain shouted out in joy as he raised his hands up, the three of them now standing at the top of the central control platform. "The official guilds' greatest weapons, unity and trust, will as of now be turned against them!"

"This One congratulates you child, thy enemies will truly quake in fear of thy name now." The entity mocked, both Cobra and Brain turning to her with confident expressions.

"Ah yes, how could I forget to thank the one who made this all possible? My thanks to you, strange spirit, for lifting the seal and preparing Nirvana for our uses. But now that it has been awakened what do you intend to do?"

"This one has no further intentions; Thy goal has already been met. So long as thou intend no harm upon thy form this one shall not stand against you. This one will simply act as a watcher." The Entity explained as they leaned against a pillar and crossed their arms.

Brain regarded the former Subject One for a moment before turning to Cobra, passing a mental communication to the poison dragon slayer, and turning to the now manifested control panel of the ancient city. "If that's the case then simply remain there and watch, watch as the light falls before our might!" Brain laughed as the controls flashed in response to his commands. "Now, great city of the Nirvits', begin your march to our target!" the city beginning to move in response to his commands.

However, the moment the city began to move The Entity began to feel a queasy feeling within her stomach, a feeling that was growing worse as time went on.  _"What is this then?...ah, This One sees; tis the power of dragons rejecting movement."_ The Entity realized as they commanded their body to fly, Lucy's feet rising off the ground to hover a few inches in the air. "This One should be fine like this, at least until the time is right…" She murmured as she watched her two temporary companions. The tan skinned fool like thought that she hadn't heard his orders to the false slayer to watch her and ensure she took no actions, but what he couldn't understand that It's own "hearing" was far greater than what the poison eater could hope to match.

 _"But their concern is unwarranted, as this one has no intention to interfere in things…yet."_ The Entity thought with a shrug as it settled in for the long haul.

But before it could even begin to relax a fire descended from the sky, a fire that took the form of a young dragon. "I'm gonna stop you!" Natsu shouted as he descended from the heavens, Happy carrying him the entire way, to crush the golden control panel that had manifested in response to Brain's commands.

"You…!" Brain cursed as he watched the two Fairy Tail members once again ascend, Natsu beginning to suck in magic as they did so.

" **Fire Dragon's Roar!** " He shouted before unleashing the torrential flame down at Brain, the white haired man simply creating a barrier before turning to Cobra. "Cobra! Do not allow him to rampage here!"

"Right! Cuberos!" The man shouted, his snake responding by lashing out and knocking Natsu and Happy away.

"I'm gonna burn all this crap to nothing!" Natsu shouted before looking over at the white haired Lucy, the anger in his face dying out for a second to be replaced by confusion.

But that turned out to be a mistake, as Cobra quickly exploited the whole in his concentration by launching off the ground to knock them even further away before joining the two in the sky on his flying serpent.

 _"Hoh? Is that snake…a cursed one? How curious, I wonder what magic did that to her?"_ The Entity mused as the two slayers faced off, Natsu trying to make his way around the poison slayer and attack Brain only to be batted away by the snake's tail.

"Dumbass. Didn't you hear me before? I can hear your movements." The Entity heard Cobra brag from atop the cursed reptile, Natsu's anger now fully directed at the two rather than Brain.

"Well then, let us see whether or not thy child's guardians have the strength to see things to the end." The Entity murmured as the battle between the two slayers intensified.

Both Brain and the Entity watched the two duke it out in the sky above them, the peaceful nature of the night sky interrupted by the occasional burst of flame or dark red bursts of poison. But eventually Lucy's enhanced ears picked up on an impossibly loud roar, a roar that sounded somewhat like Natsu.

"Hmph, to think that the little fool would use Cobra's greatest strength against him…I underestimated him. He would make for a useful pawn." Brain thought out loud before glaring at Lucy, the crimson eyed mage returning the glare. "I expect you to do nothing to the royal throne while I am gone."

"While This One is confused as to why you would expect such a thing thy word remains unchanged. So long as this "Nirvana" continues its march This One will take no action." The Entity returned uncaringly, Brain continuing to glare for a moment more before making his way through the hole in the floor.

Lucy's crimson eyes watched him leave with indifference before staring up into the night sky.  _"The fool stands no chance against the Magus that awaits him…well then; This One supposes that it is time to prepare for the final act."_

* * *

Natsu sprinted up the stairs two at a time as he made his way up to the top of the central tower, Wendy's spell allowing him to move freely despite the fact that the city was still in motion. Despite the fact that the bald guy had managed to beat Brain the city was still in motion, meaning that someone was still controlling the city despite the fact that the leader of the Oración Seis was already down.

But when Natsu finally reached to top not only did he not see the strange yellow magic circle that had been there when the Brain guy was in control but he couldn't see anyone else, not even a scent remaining of the white haired woman he had briefly seen standing alongside the two dark guild members. But while he was frustrated that she had vanished he was also somewhat glad. The moment he had made eye contact with the strange girl his skin grew cold and his heart rate sped up to such a degree that it had actually hurt.

However the red eyed lady was she wasn't someone to be messed with.

"What the hell's goin' on? There's nothing here!" Gray cursed from behind Natsu as the others joined him at the top, everyone looking around but seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

"Oh no…how are we supposed to stop it now?" Happy questioned as yet another tremor rumbled though the still moving city, the shaking indicating that they were one step closer to the Cait Shelter guild.

"Damn…I thought defeating Brain would've stopped this thing…and what the hell did they do with Lucy? That Brain bastard passed out before we could get it out of him."

"I am sure Ms. Lucy is all right. If the power of Nirvana faded from Sherry then the same should be true for your companion so long as we stop this city." Jura replied as he too looked around the place, his eyes narrow in frustration.

"So not only do we have no idea how to stop this thing, but there isn't even anything up here to work with." Gray summarized with his arms crossed, the entire group's mood darkening in response. "Since that Richard guy said this is where it is controlled from…does that mean that Brain set it to auto-pilot or something?!"

"No way! If he can do that then…" Happy started to say but stopped, to afraid of finishing his sentence.

"…Then it means that it might have been set to fire as well." Jura finished.

Wendy started to shake at that, tears beginning to fall from her eyes as the severity of the situation overcame her. "Our guild…they're all in danger…"

"Don't worry. I won't let this thing mess with your guild. I owe you one after all." Natsu reassured the girl, a serious expression on his face. "I will stop it."

"This One cannot allow that Dragon. The Twilight must come." A new voice answered, a voice that Natsu couldn't ever confuse for another no matter how strange of a tone she was taking.

"Luce! Where are you?!" Natsu shouted in desperation right before the air itself was filled with an insane amount of magical energy crushed the air out of his lungs.

"Wh-what is…how can someone produce so much magical energy?" Carla cried out as the pressure all but nailed her to the floor.

"This presence…a Wizard Saint…no, it's even more powerful!" Jura shouted as well.

But Natsu didn't care about what either had to say, the scent he had been looking for all day somehow above his head.

Natsus' head shot up to see the white haired, crimson eyed girl staring down at them, her outline highlighted by the rising moon. Now that he got a good look at the woman, Natsu could see the similarities between her and Lucy, but how did she change her eye color and dye her hair in such a short amount of time.

"What the hell are ya talking about Luce? We need to stop this thing to protect Wendy's guild."

"Why is it that all who speak to This one require This One to repeat itself?" The white haired Lucy commented with a sigh before jumping down from one of the pillars, her feet never touching the ground and instead hovering a few inches off instead. "This one requires the power of Nirvana for thyself; I cannot allow you to interfere."

Natsu could feel the others tense up behind him, Wendy being the first to speak up. "Please! My comrades will be in danger at this rate! Please don't hurt them!"

However, the white haired Lucy was unmoved, her eyes cold as she watched their group. "And for what reason would This One care about that? Thy goals a far too grand to be bothered by the corruption of a few of thy children. If their sacrifice is necessary then so be it, though This One would prefer to avoid such an ending."

Natsu couldn't help but bristle at the callus statement from his partner. Was this really what an evil Lucy was like?...no, he refused to believe that the thick blonde was this cruel just beneath the surface.

But if Natsu had to beat some sense into her in order to remind her what was important then so be it.

Natsu stepped forward with his flames jumping into existence around his fists. "So then, are you the one in control of this city still? Are you the one making it walk towards Wendy's guild?" Natsu threatened as he glared at his partner, her crimson eyes staring back at him curiously.

"Thou still thinks of This One as thy partner? The bonds thou shares with the child are quite impressive." She commented before her eyes narrowed. "But to answer thy question, no This One is not. By thy own calculations Brain transferred the control to another before he fell." She thought out loud before staring down at Natsu's fists. "But to think that another would seek out a fight with This One…how interesting."

Lucy then stared out at the surrounding mountains with a contemplative look on her face. "Thou may be thy child's comrades, but thou are still nothing more than unpolished ore, unforged in the crucible of true battle…but if This One may teach thou the true meaning of magic then so be it, let battle be joined." She murmured quietly as her magical energy gathered around her body.

"I see…then in order to stop this city we must defeat a comrade…while it pains me to fight against a comrade we must stop the destruction of Wendy's guild. I shall simply have to apologize to you once the dust settles." Jura commented seriously as golden magic began to gather around his body, its golden hue in direct contrast to the crimson energy that gathered around Lucy.

"This One sees…thou bare immense strength worthy of thy title. Then let This One present thou with a worthy adversary." Lucy returned as the air behind her exploded into flames, forming a massive circle that looked like a hole in the world. "…Ifrit, come forth!" the possessed Lucy commanded, the flames behind her beginning to take shape.

"No way…she's summoning that Elemental?" Natsu shouted in shock as he looked back at Wendy. "Wendy! You need to get out of here! If you can't fight you can't match the thing that's coming now!"

"No…NO! I will defend my guild!" The blue haired slayer shouted with a look of determination on her face. "I may not be able to fight but I can still help."

"Thou determination is admirable child of Grandeeney, but the child of Igneel speaks the truth. This battle will prove too much for thou." The possessed Lucy replied as the flames finally took the form of the lord of all fire. "And as such This One shall remove you by force." And with that Lucy flicked her hand through the air, Wendy and Carla vanishing into thin air.

"Wendy! Damn it Luce what did you do?" Natsu shouted as he barreled forward, only to be intercepted by one of Ifrit's massive fists, flames pouring out of its hand at such a speed that Natsu was nearly sent flying.

"This One has simply sent her to another part of this necropolis. She is simply too weak to face a king." She replied as Ifrit flew forward and slammed into Jura, the two of them flying off of the tower and into the city below, wrapping the streets in flames so tall that they nearly reached to top of the tower. "But thou has no time to worry about others. Now…Dragon of Flame, Knight of Ice; prove thyselves worthy of staying by her side!"

"I don't know what you're talking about but I won't let you do this Lucy!" Gray shouted as he took his stance. " **Ice Make: Lance!** " He shouted out as a multitude of spears shout out at the white haired girl. But not a single one came close to hitting her, as when they were only a few inches from her the space in front of her covered in darkness.

"As Thy child is unable to hold the gates of multiple elementals open at once yet This One will limit thy power to match. Try your best to fight child… oh mighty lord of shadow, oh indomitable spirit of death, I beseech thee; manifest thy power for this unworthy priestess…come forth darkness of Lucifer, and consume away that which stands against me… **Realm of Darkness** … **Full Unison element.** " Lucy chanted, the world around the two Fairy Tail mages being covered in darkness so complete that it smothered even Natsu's flames.

"…!" Natsu turned to call out to Gray, to coordinate an attack, but whatever this darkness was it seemed like it even canceled out sound as well. But just as quickly as the darkness appeared it gathered into a single point in front of the possessed mage, just over the palm of her hand.

But before Natsu or Gray could figure out what exactly had happened the darkness in her hand expanded to cover her whole body, Lucy's appearance now a shadow in the world with the exception of her crimson eyes.

"It has been far too long since This One has used such magic…it feels good to fight again." The possessed Lucy murmured as she clenched and unclenched her hand before staring at Natsu and Gray. "Try your hardest children, or else This One might end up irreplibly harming thou." She commented before thrusting out one of her palms, a beam of darkness shooting out directly at the two of them.

Both Natsu and Gary leapt out of the way as the beam shot over their head, passing over one of the pillars and eroding it into nothingness.

"Holy…! Don't get hit Natsu! She isn't pulling any punches." Gray warned as he once again placed his hands together. " **Ice Make: Hammer!** " He shouted as yet another ice appeared over his head, a massive hammer swinging down right on top of Lucy's head. However Lucy reacted with just as much speed as Gray and Natsu had used to dodge her attack, her hand lashing out to create a whip of darkness that cut through the ice like a hot knife through butter.

But that gave Natsu the opening he needed, the fire dragon slayer lowering his center of gravity and rushing in with both fists covered in flames. But it just as before the possessed Lucy was quick to react, leaning backwards to dodge his right hook. Natsu continued to press the advantage, trying everything he could to land a blow in an attempt to knock her out, but Lucy always managed to avoid the attacks, sometimes by bending her body in angels that shouldn't be possible with a working spine.

"How the hell are you doing that? Was Lucy some kind of carnie before coming here?"

"Thy joke is unwanted, but no. this is simply the true strength of an elemental summoner. Thy child simply is not strong enough to wield this strength yet." The possessed Lucy answered as she kicked Natsu in the stomach, the fire dragon slayer tumbling backwards for a few feet before stopping and glaring at his partner and taking a deep breath.

"… **Fire Dragon's Roar!** " He shouted as his flames roared forward directly at her.

" **Ice Make: Arrow!** " Gray answered, attacking from another angle at the same time.

" **Shadow Strike: Shadow Mirror.** " Lucy answered their attacks by holding out her hands to create to think sheets of darkness on either side of her. At first Natsu was certain that that level of defense would never be enough to stop their attacks, a feeling of regret passing through his mind for a brief second at the fact that he hadn't held back at all, but that feeling quickly vanished the moment the attacks struck.

Rather than passing over or shattering her defenses the two attacks were simply consumed by the darkness, passing into the shadows like they weren't even there and vanishing into the nothingness.

"Not nearly enough…this level is not nearly enough to fight along thy child!" The possessed Lucy angrily spat, the shadows that comprised her body quivering in anger. "If This One must show you true terror in order to forge thou into weapons deserving of thy position then This One will invite you into the depths of oblivion!" she continued to shout as the flames that had been burning throughout the city began to gather in the air above her left hand, her right hand rising to gather the shadows. " **Twin unison…Fire Realm Eclips-…!** " She started to chant but stopped and stared to the south.

Natsu was about to ask what was wrong, but before he could a bright light began to gather in that direction. A light so bright that it practically covered the entire sky.

"It appears that time has run out…a pity, This One would have preferred to tutor thou more…but no matter." Lucy sighed as both the flames and the shadows that had been gathering vanished in an instant, once again revealing her black dress and white hair. "Well then…allow this one to leave you with these parting words…"If thou truly wishes to keep her from being consumed by the gate gather your strength, prepare your magic, and ready thyself to face the chaos that threatens us all." And with that, This One will take thy leave. Until next time."

"Wait!" Natsu shouted but it was too late, his white haired partner had vanished, her form vanishing into thin air like she hadn't even been there at all. "DAMN IT LUCE! WHERE'D YOU GO NOW!

* * *

When the Entity and Lucy's body reappeared from the teleportation spell they were hovering in midair halfway between the massive mobile city and its target, a small guild building in the shape of a cats head. But the entity couldn't care less about its target; it simply needed the power of Twilight to work its magic once again.

 _"Tis a shame that This One and the Child will be unable to speak at this time…but no matter. A possible few more years is a trifling amount of time to wait compared to the centuries that have passed."_  The Entity chuckled to itself as the light continued to grow brighter and brighter. The spell only seconds away from firing.

And when Nirvana finally released its blackish light, washing over The Entity entirely, Lucy's lips curved into a heartfelt smile.  _"Until next time, my child…I look forward to the day we converse as equals."_

.

.

.

Over the course of the last few months Lucy had found herself waking up in a multitude of strange situations. Waking up in a frozen cave, in a Fairy Tail safe house, a beach, and a realm of golden buildings respectfully. But waking up hovering in midair with a massive six legged city in front of her? That just might be the strangest yet.

But Lucy had no more time to consider just how strange her waking habits had become, as gravity was beginning to act on her body and pull her down to the lake below, water that would be as solid as stone by the time she hit it.

"Oh spirits of freedom, manifest your champion before me; come forth Anu!" The slightly panicking elemental mage called out, the brown haired elemental appearing at her side a second later. Apparently the wind elemental completely understood her intentions in summoning him, as Lucy didn't even need to ask him to help before she was flying though the air before landing on top of the necropolis.

"Well that was an interesting summon." Anu commented with a chuckle as Lucy fell to her knees, trying to get her breathing under control despite not understanding why she was out of breath. "So then Lucy, am I speaking with the actual Lucy or do I still need to put on airs around you?"

"...I don't understand, are you not a wind spirit? Are you not always putting out airs when I summon you?"

"HA! That answers my question, welcome back Lucy." The Elemental laughed before bowing slightly.

Lucy tilted her head in confusion as she tried to figure out what was happening, but before she could say anything the entire city shook from impact, Lucy's stance undisturbed due to the fact that she was already on her knees.

"What was…?" Lucy murmured when the shacking stopped, but before she could finish her question a voice echoed through her head, a voice transmitted through a telepathic link.

" _Can anyone hear me? Someone! Anyone! Respond if you can hear my voice!"_ the voice called out, a voice that Lucy quickly recognized.

But before she could speak two other voices answered.  _"This voice…Hibiki?" "You're ok!"_

 _"Ms. Erza? And Wendy as well! Thank goodness you're ok!"_  Hibiki replied, his previous panic now replaced by relief.

 _"…I happen to be ok as well…Men."_ Ichiya murmured though the link as well.

 _"What's happening? I thought that Christina had been shot down?"_  Erza asked, Lucy wondering the same thing as well.

 _"She was, but with everyone's help we managed to put her back together…somewhat."_ Hibiki answered with a sigh.  _"We rushed over here to help, intending to shoot Nirvana before it could fire, but before we could get within range the light vanished…but at this point I'm willing to accept any good luck we get."_

 _"Thank you…thank you, everyone, for protecting Cait Shelter!"_  Wendy cried out in happiness.

_"Your welcome…but as it stands now we can't do that again, we're almost out of magic power after all. We won't be able to stay in the air for much longer…but before then, there's one last thing that you need to hear! Using my Archive I finally figured out how to stop Nirvana!"_

Hibiki went on to explain to them how they had to destroy each and every lacrima located in the cities legs simultaneously before he loaded a timer into each of their heads, a timer set to finish in exactly twenty minutes.

 _"Such pointlessness."_  A new voice mocked though the link

_"Someone managed to hijack my telepathy?"_

_"I am Zero, the true master of the Oración Seis. Hear me, mages of light! Though my will all righteousness shall fall! Just now, you mentioned destroying the lacrimas all at once. But that may prove difficult for you, as I am standing in front of one at this very moment! As long as I'm here, destroying them simultaneously will be impossible!"_ Zero mocked before cutting off the telepathy, a shock passing though Hibiki's as he did so.

 _"This is bad…if Zero is waiting in front of one then someone will have to beat him so we can destroy the lacrima."_ A voice Lucy hadn't been expecting to hear again murmured quietly.

 _Jellal is here? What is going on?_ Lucy thought to herself, her mind so lacking in understanding that she would have preferred to have been speaking with Ichiya once again instead.

 _"And there are only two of us here…is there anyone else able-bodied enough to help_?" Erza's voice echoed through the link.

_"My honey…you have me…although I am tied up."_

_"That makes three…damn its not enough…my magic is about to fade…is there…anyone else?"_

_"Finally got though! Ya I'm here!"_  Natus's voice echoed though Lucy's head, a voice that Lucy couldn't help but smile at.

 _"Damn…whatever Lucy did really messed up the Ethernano around here. I'm up for destroying some lacrima too."_  Gray sighed in her head as well.

 _Me…I don't get what's happening but it doesn't seem like I have time to figure it out._ Lucy though as she took a deep breath. " _U-umm…while I don't get what's going on…I will help as well."_

 _"Wha…Luce! Why aren't you talking all strangely like you were? Did you finally wake up?"_  Natsu screamed in her head, the others echoing his concern a few seconds later.

"I have no memory in regards to what you're talking about but I am more than capable of destroying one of the lacrima. If I harmed someone while I was unconscious I apologize…" Lucy quietly continued though the mental connection.

 _"Wait a moment. Jura, are you here as well?"_  Lyon asked though the connection.

 _"Sorry man, Lucy sicked her most powerful elemental on the guy so I doubt he's gonna be up and about for a bit."_  Gray chuckled though the connection, Lucy's face growing hot in response.

"…I'm so sorry…"

_"Never mind that now…my telepathy is about to cut out…so you guys better decide what lacrima your going to go to before it's too late."_

The others began shouting out their number, Lucy deciding to take the third lacrima as it was the closest to her.

 _"Then I will-."_  The voice of Jellal began before Erza cut him off, stating that he would be taking number six.

"Wait, who was that? The voice sounded familiar." Natsu called out through the link, but before anyone could answer the link cut off, leaving each of them alone in their respective minds.

"Well then, what shall we do now? Oh summoner of mine." Anu questioned theoretically, Lucy narrowing her eyes as she began to walk through the desolate city.

"Need you ask? We will go destroy our lacrima…while I have many questions about what exactly has been happening this is hardly the time nor the place to figure them out. If Wendy's guild is in danger then I shall defend them." Lucy declared solemnly, the wind elemental shrugging his shoulders before following after her.

* * *

Natsu was pissed. He was pissed, confused, frustrated…and a little hungry. Not only had Luce somehow turned to the dark side in the middle of the mission, but she had become a super badass and turned back just as quickly. Nothing good ever seemed to happen around his partner and he was starting to get annoyed with always trying to keep her together, both physically and mentally.

"Damn it Luce, you're gonna owe me a huge meal after this is all over for the shit you've put me through today." Natsu complained to no one in particular as he walked down the narrow hallway. He would've normally just talked to Happy about it but the blue furball had decided to protect Wendy and Carla this time around, leaving him to vent his frustrations to the air.

"Eh, never mind. At least I get to beat this guy down instead." Natsu growled as he entered the lacrima room to see another white haired, red eyed person standing before him. But rather than is formerly possessed partner this white haired bastard was someone who he could beat the shit out of and not feel bad about.

"Heh, so this is the brat I get to destroy before that pathetic guild falls? Very well then." Zero mocked as he cracked his knuckles, Natsu chuckling darkly as he did so.

"I wonder…which of us is really gonna get destroyed? Me? Or you?" Natsu returned before his flames covered his entire body before he rushed forward intending to punch the guy in the face. Unfortunately Zero was prepared, ducking under the blow with a cocky smile on his face. Natsu immediately tried to follow up with a kick, but the white haired bastard dodged that one just as easily.

"Alright, well then try this one on for size!" He shouted as he blew a stream of fire at his opponent, a stream of fire that Zero knocked away with the back of his hand.

"Impressive, you're much more agile then Brain found you after you defeated Cobra." Zero mocked, Natsu grinding his teeth in frustration.

Now Zero was on the offensive, sending a blast of spiraling green magic directly at the pink haired slayer. Natsu tried to dodge, but the damn spell actually drilled through the ground and followed Zero's fingers, striking Natsu with the force of a solid object.

"HA ha ha, you were saying something about who would make it out alive, right brat? Well I think the answer should be fairly self explanatory now, don't you?" Zero mocked as he sent the beam right back at Natsu. But Natsu had other plans rather than just being knocked around continuously.

" **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!** " He shouted as he punched the beam, skidding backwards from the force but canceling it out before it could inflict anymore damage.

The two glared at each other for a moment before both noticed that they weren't alone any longer, and whoever this new person was they were currently sending a fireball directly at Natsu.

"Who's there?" Zero called out as Natsu devoured the flames and looked up, his eyes first going wide before narrowing in furry.

"Jellal! You bastard! What are you doing here?!" Natsu cursed as the blue haired man walked into the chamber.

"Well then this is a surprise. Have you come here for more lessons in magic? Or do you simply wish to see the light fall as I do?" Zero asked with an evil grin on his face.

"…Neither actually." Jellal returned without taking his eyes of Natsu, the look in those very eye infuriating the already pissed of slayer.

"…You bastard…JELLAL!" Natsu screamed as he rose to his feet and charged the blue haired bastard, all thoughts of Zero gone for the moment. But before he could reach him Jellal raised his hand again, another fireball striking Natsu with even more force than before. "Flames don't work on me Jellal, you remember that dont'cha?"

"Of course I do…I also remember the hope that you represent." Jellal answered, his reply confusing Natsu for a second. "You are a fire Dragon Slayer and as such these flames will amplify your magical energy."

Natsu blinked in confusion as he stared down at his still enflamed body. "The power…of flames…"

"You bastard…what do you think you're doing here Jellal?" Zero cursed from his spot near the lacrima.

"I have come here to repay the debt I have to Erza, to Lucy, and to Natsu…I will stop Nirvana."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Natsu growled as the flames disappeared.

"Natsu, the spells that once clouded my thoughts vanished after that day in the tower. I understand all the horrible things I have done, both to others and the members of Fairy Tail. But now, all I wish to do is protect Wendy's guild. I want to stop Nirvana. I want to help you all!" Jellal explained.

But Natsu wasn't about to swallow that load of bull, leaping forward and slamming his fist into Jellal's jaw the moment the man finished. "To hell with that! To hell with you! You're saying you just want to move on from what happened then? Quit pretending to be on our side!" Natsu screamed as he grabbed Jellal's coat and lifted him into the air, the blue haired man wincing as the heat from Natsu's fists burned his skin.

"Please, Natsu. Take my flames for now!" He tried to reason but Natsu remained firm in his anger.

"I'll never forget Erza's tears…Lucy's pain…you…you hurt the only people I care about!"

"Oh my…If you two are going to have a private spat, do it elsewhere…you're annoying me!" Zero shouted as he shot another beam of magic at the two of them, both Jellal and Natsu staring at it in shock. But before Natsu could move out of the way Jellal escaped from his grasp and moved to stand in front of Natsu, taking the blow for him.

Natsu's eyes went wide as he stared at Jellal's back, his memories of what both Erza and Lucy did to block an attack meant for him overlapping with his current reality. Jellal slowly collapsed from the blow, lying down at Natsu's feet as the center of his shirt began to change from white to red.

"…You…" Natsu murmured as Jellal turned to stare at him.

"If you intend to end me, do so now. I barely have the strength to stand anymore after all…but…before you do so… I will give you the power to defeat him!" Jellal declared as he held up his hand, a golden flame appearing in it as he did so.

"A gold flame…I've never seen one this bright before." Natsu murmured as he knelt down beside the former foe.

"This is…the Flame of Rebuke. A flame I…intended to use on myself after everything that happened that day. I know that I am beyond forgiveness, but at this moment all I want is to grant you strength…I believe in you…I believe in the man that Erza believes in."

Natsu stared into the man's eyes for a moment, unsure what to do. But before he could make a decision the flames in Jellal's hand grew even brighter. The golden flames mixing with a flame of pure white, filling the chamber with its brilliance.

"This is…!" Jellal muttered in surprise before chuckling slightly. "I see…so this is what she was speaking of."

"What is…?" Natsu murmured quietly as he watched the flames, the heat within feeling somehow familiar to him.

"This white flame is a flame that was given to me by your partner. A flame she referred to as the Flame of Clemency."

Natsu's head whipped to stare at the former foe's eyes before once again staring at the now mixture of gold and white flames. "This is Lucy's…"

"I suppose this is her way of accepting what I had done to her, her way of wanting me to move on from what happened that day…honestly, you Fairy Tail members are too forgiving for your own good." Jellal explained with a chuckle, the flames in his hands growing almost as if in response.

Natsu stared at Jellal's face for one more second before staring down at the white and gold flames. If this really came from his partner, a girl who was apparently deafly afraid of fire, then these flames were all the more important.

Natsu's hesitation was gone then as he reached out and grabbed Jellal's hand, the fire that had been held on in his hand now wrapping around Natsu's body. Natsu immediately began to devour the flames, enjoying the warmth as it entered his system, and nearly stopped when a vision of Lucy appeared in front of him. She was smiling down at him with an expression so warm that Natsu almost had trouble continuing to eat.

 _Oh, I get it. So this is what Lucy wanted…she wanted someone to help her carry the weight of her past._ Natsu realized as he ate the last of the flames. "…Thanks for the meal." Natsu murmured as he stood and glared down at Zero "I've accepted your offering Jellal, but don't think that this gets you off the hook for what you've done. When this is over your apologizing to Erza and Luce for what you did to them."

"The flames of Rebuke huh…eating that fire means that you now share the sins of those who put their strength into the flames, you realize that don't you?"

"Sins are nothing new to Fairy Tail wizards…The true sin is in looking away and not believing in anyone anymore!" Natsu shouted as he shot forward with such speed that Zero didn't even have time to look away from where he had been, Natsu striking him in the chest with such force that spittle flew from his mouth. But Natsu was far from finished, as he grabbed the man and tossed him through the air, Zero hitting the wall with such force that it left an outline behind when he peeled away.

Zero tried to retaliate, firing off one of his piercing spells in rebuttal, but Natsu easily deflected it with a flick of his wrist before rushing in once again, pounding the white haired bastard with a flurry of punches and kicks and finishing with a breath attack, a breath so powerful that it actually melted the stone under his feet.

"This power…light…Dragon Force?...no, it's something different." Zero murmured as he stood.

Natsu could tell something was different, the skin around his eyes pulling away slightly being one thing, but it wasn't until he looked at his hands to see that draconic claws of pure white flames had enveloped his fists that he truly understood.

"It's almost like that time I ate the ethernano…but this time I've got Lucy's strength too." Natsu murmured as he looked over his shoulder, two pure white wings of flame filling his vision. "It's like my own strength has doubled, or even tripled."

"Intriguing! Let us see how powerful you have become boy! Show me the power of a Dragon Force!" Zero shouted as Natsu lowered his stance.

"You're gonna regret those words." He growled as he shot forward, the wings of flame flapping in response to Natsu's mental commands. The moment he was in range he lashed out with his claws, but Zero had other intentions other than simply blocking, striking the ground and opening up a massive hole.

Natsu started to fall, passing by a few floors of the city in the blink of an eye, but after a few seconds the wings of white flames began to beat once again. Lifting him into the air and placing him on solid ground again.

"Man these are hard to get used to. How did pops ever manage to fly so easily with these bulky things on his back?" Natsu asked as Zero leapt down, unleashing a barrage of magic that Natsu easily avoided.

"Not yet! I'm not nearly satisfied with this fight yet!" Zero shouted as he unleashed a barrage of tiny green orbs. But Natsu didn't even bother to dodge, the golden flames around his body easily blocking the attack.

"Is that it? Because if that's the best you can do then this is over!" Natsu screamed as he sucked in a breath and released a massive golden stream of fire, the flames quickly washing over Zero and knocking him away.

But Zero remained standing, grinning at Natsu with a look full of confidence. "You don't have the strength to beat me boy. A lowly guild wizard could never pull off such a feat. Perhaps if your friends were here then you might stand a better chance but by yourself you are nothing more than a flea to be swatted away.

"…that's where your wrong, you bastard." Natsu growled, the flames pulsing in response to his anger. "Everyone's reaching out to me…I can hear them, loud and clear. They're telling me to beat you down, that I can't afford to lose this fight. They're the only reason I'm still standing now!" Natsu continued, the flames continuing to grow. "And with their determination, and Lcuy's power on my side, I won't fail them!" Natsu shouted as he prepared his ultimate attack.

"Nonsense! If you truly believe such dribble then you should have no issue dealing with this attack…return to the nothingness!  **Genesis Zero!** " Zero shouted, strange purple human shapes appearing and launching at Natsu.

But Natsu couldn't care less, he had both Jellal's and Lucy's fires flowing though his veins, and nothing was going to stop him now. " **Dragon Slayer Secret Art…Hidden Fire Form: Flame Lotus Phoenix Sword!** " Natsu screamed, both the golden flames and the white flames wrapping around his form as he launched himself at his foe. Zero didn't even have time to react as Natsu barreled into the man with unparalleled force, the two of them breaking though the many layers of the city until they struck the lacrima.

"Wow…Lucy's fire was really something else. I got to get her to let me eat some more later on!" Natsu decided with a grin as the walls around them began to crumble.

* * *

Lucy sprinted down the hill in order to avoid the many pieces of debris that were currently raining through the sky. After destroying the lacrima with her bow the entire city began to collapse threatening to trap her inside. It took all her concentration to escape with all her limbs intact.

But now that she was outside she wasn't exactly sure what to do. But luckily she didn't have to think about it for too long, as she quickly saw both Erza and Gray standing in a clearing along with…something that could only be described as a mass of muscle.

"Everyone!" She shouted out as she ran up to them, all three tensing for a moment before relaxing and smiling at her.

"Lucy! Thank goodness you're back to normal!" Erza commented as she pulled Lucy into a hug, a hug that was thankfully not as painful as normal thanks to the fact that she was currently not wearing a chest plate.

"Ya Lucy, you really gave us a scare with your whole villain routine." Gray added with a grin, Lucy narrowing her eyes in confusion as she tried to figure out what they were talking about.

"U-um…would you mind explaining what you're talking about? I have no memory of anything after leaving the mansion."

Gray and Erza stared at her for a second before looking at each other and sighing heavily, launching into an explanation of the day's events. Lucy was shocked to hear that not only had she apparently turned against everyone with an entirely different look than normal, something that would explain her black dress, but had even brought Jellal into the battle and had fought with both Ifrit and a darkness elemental known as Lucifer, an elemental she had no memory of.

"I…I fought against my family?" Lucy murmured in shock as Gray recounted the battle between her, Gray, and Natsu.

"Don't worry about it Lucy, it's not like it was you." Gray said with a grin, waving his hand dismissively.

"But…"

"Hey guysss! Are you ok?" Wendy called out, leading Jura, Happy, and Carla over to their group. But both Wendy and Jura stopped when they noticed Lucy standing amongst them, Jura watching her warily while Wendy looked at her with fear.

"U-umm…I'm so sorry!" Lucy apologized, bending forward until she was staring at the ground. "I have done something terrible to you and caused you pain…and for that I am truly sorry."

"I-Its fine…after all you did send me to Jellal so I can't complain too much." Wendy quickly replied, nervous that such a powerful mage was bowing her head to her.

"Indeed, despite falling prey to Nirvana's power you still held back from injuring us. And you're Elemental was quite clearly pulling its punches in its battle with me. I am simply glad to see that your consciousness has returned." Jura added as he smiled and placed a hand on the miserable Elemental mages shoulder.

"Th-thank you…" Lucy murmured in reply.

"But besides that, has anyone seen Natsu or Jellal?" Wendy questioned as she scanned their surroundings.

"No I haven't…could they still be inside?" Erza murmured as she looked to the still crumbling ruins.

"Knowing Natsu he probably just got lost in the woods." Gray commented with a shrug, Lucy silently agreeing with him.

But before anyone else could say anything the earth under their feet rose up to reveal a member of the Oración Seis carrying an unconscious Jellal and a confused looking Natsu. "Love can save anyone's friends. Yes!" Hoteye shouted, Lucy tensing for a brief moment before noticing that no one else was on guard, apparently more had happened during her blackout than they had explained.

"And there he is, always has to have a dramatic entrance for some reason." Gray mocked with a chuckle as Wendy threw herself at the still confused slayer, tears leaking from her eyes.

"Natsu…you kept your promise…thank you…for protecting our guild."

"Nah, it wasn't just me. After all, everyone here helped right?" Natsu replied with a grin as he gestured to their group, finally noticing Lucy standing amongst their ranks.

"L-Luce! You're not crazy anymore?" Natsu shouted as he stormed over to her, sniffing her experimentally just in case.

"No, I'm not…sorry Natsu." Lucy apologized with another bow.

"Nah, it's cool. Plus you really saved my hide back there so it's all good."

"If you say so." Lucy replied in confusion, still not sure what he was talking about or alluded to. But her attention quickly turned to the blue haired man standing in the corner. "So…would someone explain to me why Jellal showed up here?"

"Actually…you're the one who brought me here Lucy." Jellal replied with a sad grin, only adding to Lucy's confusion.

"Jellal...would you mind if we speak privately for a moment?" Erza asked, dragging the blue haired man off to a corner so that they could speak in hushed voices.

Lucy watched them for a moment before groaning and rubbing her temple. "Natsu…I can't stand this anymore…this whole mission has given me nothing but headaches." She complained with faint annoyance in her voice, Natsu chuckling and draping a hand around her shoulder, Lucy smiled slightly as his warmth warmed her body.

The group stood in silence for a moment, simply enjoying the peace and quiet of the night air, when Lucy noticed something strange happening in their surroundings.

"Natsu…" She warned quietly, drawing her bow from her back.

"What's up?"

"…Someone has trapped us here using runes." She continued as she scanned the woods.

But she didn't have to look for long, as within a minute an entire platoon of rune knights walked out from the shadows. Their faces taunt and their staffs at the ready.

"There's no need to panic, we mean you no harm. I am Lahar, Captain of the New Council's Fourth Custody Enforcement Unit." The lead rune knight introduced himself as he stared at each of them in turn, his gaze lingering on both Jellal and Lucy. "While you may not have done wrong here tonight there is a man in your ranks who we need to take into custody. Please hand over the man, codenamed "Hoteye", to us now."

"Wait!" Jura shouted as he ran forward, clearly intending to defend the man, but Hoteye placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"It's all right, Jura. Even if I've turned to the side of virtuousness, that does not erase my past transgressions. In fact, I would prefer the chance to pay for my mistakes, to show those in power that I truly would like to start over with a clean slate. So that I may one day face my brother with a clean slate." Hoteye explained.

"I see…then I shall search for your brother, Wally, in your stead." Jura answered with a smile.

"…I know the man you speak of." Erza added in, Hoteye turning to her with a shocked expression. "He is a dear friend of mine. He is doing well, and is traveling the continent with friends as we speak.

Hoteye, or Richard as Jura called him, immediately began crying as he stared up at the moon. "This must be…a miracle granted only to those who believe in the light…Th-thank you…thank you so much!" He cried as the rune knights lead him away.

"Now that that's over with would you mind letting us go? It's been a long day and I'm beat." Gray questioned with a yawn.

"No, after all, our true objective is much more than capturing the irrelevant Oración Seis." Lahar denied as he glared into their group. "For the charges of infiltrating and destroying the Council, the firing of the Etherion, we have come to arrest Jellal Fernandes!" he announced, all eyes turning to the blue haired man.

"You can't be serious" "Hold on just a minute!" Wendy and Natsu both shouted out, but Lahar continued on undisturbed by their interuptions.

"This man is a danger to the world and cannot ever be allowed to roam free ever again."

"No, please don't take him away! It's not fair!" Wendy cried out as tears began to leak from her eyes.

"It's all right Wendy, I'm sorry that I have no memories of meeting you…but thank you nonetheless." Jellal quickly interjected. "I have no intention of resisting arrest….Erza…I won't forget the kindness you've shown me." Jellal finished quietly as he was started to be lead away.

But to Lucy's surprise Natsu leapt forward, striking two rune knights as he did so. "Hold it right there! Jellal is one of us! And we won't let you take him!" He shouted as the rune knights attempted to subdue him.

Lucy watched in shock as nearly each and every one of her group rushed forward in an attempt to free the man who had once been their foe, uncomprehending for a moment before realizing that no matter what had happened, Natsu and the others had decided to forgive the man for his actions.  _While I may not understand what has happened, I can understand what I need to do._ Lucy decided as Lahar shouted for the lot of them to be arrested for obstructing justice.

But Lucy had other plans, walking forward with a chilly gaze. "Are you certain about this, Rune Knight? Because if you continue to arrest this man then I cannot guarantee that the truth of my origins will not come to light." She threatened, each and every person turning to her, the members of Fairy Tail the only ones who understood the truth of the situation.

"…Lucy of Fairy Tail…you would threaten the Council to defend a criminal?" Lahar quietly questioned, his own glare just as cold as Lucy's but having little effect on her.

"Does it matter what reasoning I have? Surely your new council, already weak from losing the trust of the people in the past few months, cannot afford to ignore the truth I could reveal to the world?" Lucy theoretically proposed, not revealing that most of the evidence of, the tortured experiments she had been through, had been erased due to the time she died and was brought back.

Lahar studied her for a second, clearly debating the merits of simply ignoring her blackmail, before grinning down at her. "Actually, the council has decided to simply ignore your assorted past."

"Hoh? Are you certain?"

"We are, the world would never believe what you have to say and we can simply sweep your lies under the rug…that is, unless, you prove your good intentions to us here and now." Lahar continued.

Lucy narrowed her eyes at that, not sure exactly where this was going. "…Very well, then what would you have me do?"

"It's quite simple…you will kill Jellal here and now." Lahar finished coldly, Lucy's eyes going wide in response.

"…you would have me kill the very man I wish to save?"

"I would have you do nothing. But if you wish to maintain the status quo with the Magic Council then you will kill him. We have been authorized to put Jellal down if it came to it, and even if you choose not to he will still be placed in prison for life…so choose, Lucy of Fairy Tail, choose whether he dies here tonight or lives in prison for the rest of his life.

The field was deathly quiet as each of the rune knights and Lucy's companions stared at her with shocked and fearful expressions as she weighed her options, none amongst them more afraid than Erza, staring at Lucy's back with a look of trepidation.

And to all their horror Lucy eventually made her decision, strolling forward and drawing her bow, her eyes cold and lifeless as she approached the at first shocked, but then accepting, Heavenly body mage.

"Lucy! Don't!...you…you can't do this!" Erza shouted but was stopped by Natsu, Erza whipping her head around to stare at the pink haired boy. "Natsu!"

"Erza…trust her, she's our family after all." Was all Natsu said as Lucy stopped in front of a content looking Jellal, the man sinking to his knees as Lucy aimed her bow.

"I see…I suppose that if someone is to pass judgment on me it might as well be you. One who I hurt so much in that accursed tower." Jellal murmured as he closed his eyes in acceptance.

"…Jellal Fernandes; I, Lucy of Fairy Tail will hereby pass judgment on you…do you have any final words?" Lucy questioned coldly as she drew back the bow string, a burning arrow appearing in her hand, the tip aimed right at Jellal's chest.

Jellal turned then, opening his eyes and smiling at the horrified Scarlet haired mage. "…thank you Erza, for forgiving me in the end despite all that I've done…thank you for giving me a chance. " He finished and closed his eyes once again.

The world seemed to freeze as Lucy regarded the man on his knees before her, but then time moved on, and the merciless blade fell on Jellal's head.

Lucy released the arrow, the crimson bolt burying itself in the blue haired man's chest before anyone could even react. Wendy screamed out in shock and horror as Jellal's eyes shot open, his hand gingerly reaching for the bolt sticking out of his chest. But before he could even touch the arrow the entire bolt exploded into flames, completely covering the blue haired man in such hungry flames that not even his scream escaped from the inferno.

And then it was over, leaving nothing but ashes in its wake. Even Lahar seemed shocked by Lucy's callous disregard for human life, walking up to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Very well then, Subject One. Your loyalty has been proven. The Magic Council will continue to honor the agreement of our predecessors."

"…leave now…and pray that I never see you again." Lucy returned just as quietly, her eyes never leaving the spot where Jellal had been kneeling.

No one moved, no one spoke, and most didn't even breathe as the rune knights made their way out of the area, leaving only the members of the coalition to stare at Lucy in fear.

"…I must admit, Ms. Lucy, but I cannot believe that someone like you could ever be a member of Fairy Tail." Jura growled out as he glared at the blonde mage, Lucy never taking her eyes off the spot where Jellal had been.

"I can't say that I disagree with you, Wizard Saint, I would have never thought I could be so either." Lucy murmured back.

"Alright Luce, I think it's about time to stop playing around. The rune knights are far enough away now so you can drop the act." Natsu reprimanded with a grin, a grin that seemed completely out of place considering the situation they were in.

"N-Natsu? What are you talking about?" Wendy questioned through her tears, confused by Natsu's grin.

But before Natsu could explain the ground beneath Lucy turned completely black, a humanoid form rising from its depths, a form that the others had just watched vanish before their very eyes only moments ago.

"It was too soon Natsu, there was no guarantee that Lahar or another knight wasn't using long range clairvoyance magic after all." Lucy reprimanded with a pout as Jellal stared at her in shock, a look mirrored by everyone present.

"You…wha…" Erza stuttered in confusion as her legs gave out, the scarlet haired mage falling to her knees.

"To think that only Master Dragneel had faith in our Master…how disappointing." A male voice chastised a second before Anzu rose out of the shadow as well.

"No, its fine Anzu. Without prior knowledge of my acting training or your power of illusion and your ability to bring others into a shadow it makes more sense that Jellal would have died." Lucy placated the elemental, sighing in exhaustion as she stepped away to lean against a tree.

"U-umm…I don't understand what happened." Wendy murmured as she looked from Jellal to Lucy and finally to the ninja that was standing there.

"Luce tricked' em!" Natsu whopped as he ran over to check on Lucy, making sure she was just tired rather than turning evil again.

"But Natsu…how did you figure it out?" Erza asked as Lucy sat down.

"Hm? Oh, that's easy. Lucy would never do something like that." Natsu easily explained with a smile. "Plus she was using fire right? Lucy can't use fire?" he continued, frowning at the mention of Lucy's fear.

Erza blinked slowly for a few seconds before the pieces finally fell into place. It was true, not even a day ago Lucy had admitted to them her fear of fire, so the fact that she had "killed" Jellal with an arrow of flame was simply ludicrous, she wouldn't be able to aim with fire that close to her face.

And even more than that…Ezra failed to have faith in her team mate, something that caused her no end of guilt.

"Forgive me Lucy, I failed you, please strike me for my penance." Erza apologized as she walked up to the exhausted blonde.

"…would you mind if I put off the blow for awhile, I'm very tired after everything that's happened." Lucy eventually murmured with a yawn, Erza looking unsatisfied but saying nothing more.

"I don't understand." Jellal muttered, drawing all eyes to him. "Why did you spare me? You have just as much reason to hate me as Erza…so why did you spare me?"

Lucy studied the blue haired man for a moment before answering. "I think your misunderstanding something; Jellal Fernandes died here today, just as Lahar declared." Lucy started to explain, Jellal staring at her with a confused expression. "And if Jellal has died, then the only people who remain are those who fought to stop the Oración Seis and Nirvana, mages who are able to go anywhere they wish once we report our success." Lucy explained like it was common sense, Jellal continuing to stare at her strangely as Lucy yawned again. "…I'm tired now, so is it alright if I take a little nap?"

"Sure Luce, just make sure you don't wake up evil again."

"I will…try, but I…make no…promises." Lucy muttered seriously as she passed out, the sound of her quiet breathing one of the only noises before Happy began to chuckle loudly.

* * *

Erza and Jellal had moved away from the others, both sitting on a cliff as they watched a very crimson sun crest the horizon. Jellal had explained all he knew about what had happened to Lucy, the strange being that had possessed her form, and what she said while she was under its influence. Erza couldn't help but feel concern for her blonde teammate and what she had gone through, but her concerns took a back seat in her mind when Jellal began to smile at her.

"But in truth, I thought my heart was going to stop when Lucy held that arrow to my chest." Jellal eventually commented with a chuckle, Erza chuckling along with him.

"As did mine…to think that Lucy would actually consider tricking the Magic Council…it appears that Natsu and Gray are having more of an impact on her than I originally believed." Erza joked before turning to Jellal with a serious expression. "What will you do now Jellal? Where will you go?"

"…I honestly don't know." Jellal replied as he stared up at the early morning sky. "After everything I've done I need to find some way to make up for my mistakes…but what I can do…I simply do not know."

"I see…have you considered…joining Fairy Tail? We would be more than happy to have you join us. You have proven that the Jellal of the past is no more."

"…I would love to…but I cannot." Jellal decided after a moment, a frown on his face. "If I join your guild the council would one day notice me, and that would waste the efforts of your friends…I simply wish I could know what I need to do."

"That's understandable, but no one can know what tomorrow brings. And no matter where you go in this world…we will always remain connected…more than you could know." Erza comforted, her cheeks growing hotter with each word she spoke.

"Erza…" Jellal murmured quietly before brushing some of her crimson hair out of Erza's face. "When next we meet…when my sins are not as heavy as they are now…there's something I will talk with you about. But not here, I refuse to drag you down into my darkness."

"I see…well then make sure that no matter what, you live until the day we can have that conversation." Erza replied with a sad smile before standing and walking a few feet away, refusing to look Jellal in the face. "Until Next time…Jellal."

"Goodbye Erza…" she heard Jellal mutter in return, and by the time she turned around her blue haired comrade was gone, leaving her alone to face the crimson dawn herself.

* * *

Lucy fiddled with her strange outfit as everyone stood facing the Cait Shelter guild the morning after the fighting had ended. The master of the tiny guild staring at them with a serious expression with Wendy at his side.

"Members of the coalition…and of course Wendy and Carla, you have done well in defeating the Oración Seis and stopping Nirvana. On behalf of the regional guild league I would like to thank you for your efforts; Thank you." The old man said with a bow, the guild members behind him bowing as well.

"You're quite welcome, Master Roubaul! Our clash may have been one intense clash after another but with our bonds of friendship we overcame them and obtained victory!" Ichiya answered as he struck pose after pose, the confusion Lucy felt yesterday upon meeting him returning in full force as he did so.

But the happy mood quickly vanished as Master Roubaul began to explain the history of Nirvana, how he was technically the last surviving member of the Nirvits and the creator of Nirvana itself, how the Nirvits had ended up slaughtering each other as the darkness overcame them, and finally how he had taken it upon himself to watch over his failed creation despite the fact that his body had long ago faded into dust.

It was then that the individual members of Cait Shelter, each one smiling at Wendy and Carla, began to fade into nothingness as well, disappearing in a golden glow.

"What is this…everyone!" Wendy cried out as they disappeared, one by one. "No…everyone…don't disappear!"

"I'm sorry for having fooled you; Wendy, Carla. All the guild members…are illusions that I created."

"No way…illusions with personalities?" Lyon muttered in shock.

"I lived alone in this deserted village so that I could watch over Nirvana…that is, I did live alone. Up until the day a young man came and left a young girl in my care. And from that meeting I created illusionary friends."

"You…created a guild for the sake of Wendy?" Lucy muttered in shock, Wendy herself crying out in pain.

"No! I don't want to hear this!" She screamed.

"Wendy…Carla…you no longer have a need for any fabricated friends….you have real friends now." The old spirit replied with a chuckle, pointing at all those who stood behind Wendy before beginning to fade into the light. "Your futures…have just begun..."

"M-Master!" Wendy shouted as she tried to run to the place where the old man had been standing, his outline quickly fading.

"Thank you very much, all of you…I leave Wendy and Carla in your hands now." Roubaul finished as the last of his light vanished, leaving Wendy crying in the spot he had been standing in.

For a brief second Lucy did nothing, simply watching the young girl cry, but then something stirred in her heart, and she knew what she needed to do.

Walking forward and kneeling down behind Wendy, Lucy gently placed a hand on the young slayers shoulder. "I understand…the pain…the sorrow of losing everyone you know." Lucy muttered sadly, the young girl turning slightly to stare at her. "And while you might not believe me, some day the pain will fade, and others who care for you will make the pain of parting more bearable…your friends will help soothe it." Lucy smiled then, her own tears beginning to fall.

"Won't you come with us? To join Fairy Tail?"


	19. Chapter 19

"Holy cow! I never knew that being on boats could be so enjoyable!" Natsu shouted as he ran from one end of the boat to the other, Happy flying just off to his side and laughing to himself the entire time.

"Indeed, I would have never thought that I could look out over the sea and not feel anything but nausea." Lucy agreed with a slow nod as she looked out over the sea, moving a strand of hair out of her face as she leaned on the railing and looked out over the ocean before them.

Erza had declared that they would take a ship back to Fairy Tail, apparently deciding that it was of grave importance to introduce their two hopeful members to the rest of the guild. But her decision had almost instant repercussions on Lucy and Natsu, both growing green at the thought of having to endure any sea travel.

But to both their relief Wendy had brought forth a miracle, using her magic to apparently correct their sense of balance and prevent motion sickness from taking hold, a spell apparently called Troia from what Lucy heard.

"You two should be careful, the spell is going to wear off pretty soon." The blue haired slayer commented with an angelic smile, a smile that looked almost diabolical to both Natsu and Lucy as they stared at her in shock.

But before either could complain the spell ended, causing both to collapse into fetal positions, gurgles escaping from their mouths as they fought desperately to keep their food down.

"W-Wendy…please…cast it again." Natsu begged as he reached out for the young mage, his hand shaking like a man stranded in the desert reaching for water.

"I…I too would like to request support…ugh." Lucy groaned as she clutched at her skull in a vain attempt to stop the spinning.

"I would…but if I use it too many times then it becomes less effective each and every time. So…" Wendy started to explain, Gray walking up and placing a hand on the younger girls shoulder.

"Its fine, just leave 'em be. It's not like they're not used to this after all." He joked, Erza chuckling slightly at Lucy's and Natsu's misery.

Happy, realizing that Natsu wouldn't be getting up for awhile, moved to stand over by Carla's side. "so you two are really going to join Fairy Tail?"

"Hmph…I'm only joining because Wendy intends to join. I have no interest in your guild." The white cat denied as she looked away from Happy, Wendy apparently forgetting all about Natsu and Lucy and facing the others.

"I can't wait to see Fairy Tail! This is so exciting!" She all but shouted.

"Indeed, and I'm certain that the others will be just as excited to meet you as well."

"So when do you think we'll arrive?" Wendy asked, Erza placing a finger on her chin as she stared up at the sky.

"Hmm…at our current rate we should arrive within a few hours or so." The scarlet haired mage announced, Lucy and Natsu groaning at the announcement.

"L-Luce…hang on…don't go towards the light." Natsu desperately murmured, reaching out for Lucy's hand but being unable to reach her.

"I can't…all I see is darkness…"

"Luce?...LUCE!"

* * *

But despite two of their party suffering immensely, the group eventually made their way to the Fairy Tail guild hall. Erza throwing open the doors before introducing their two new members.

"And so, we've invited both Wendy and Carla here to join our family. And I expect each and every one of you to treat them with respect. Do I make myself clear?" Erza eventually finished to a chorus of "Aye ma'am"

"It's a pleasure to meet you all!" Wendy greeted with a bow, the various members rushing over to talk to her.

Lucy for her part simply remained off to the side, watching the two new members get integrated into the guild with a neutral expression. With Wendy's entrance into the guild that brought the total number of slayers in their ranks up to four. A number that was far too large to be simple coincidence. But while she wasn't sure what force was at work, she was certain that something, or perhaps someone, was affecting things.

 _Perhaps it was this existence that Erza was telling me about. The entity that possessed me during the war against Oración Seis. But then why would it care about the slayers?_ Lucy thought grimly as she crossed her arms, a shadow crossing her features as she recalled the last few days. Erza had informed her that she had been possessed by some kind of nefarious spirit, but as far as what she had done or how it had happened she had no memories of what had transpired. The last memory she could recall being the strategy meeting that took place in the Blue Pegasus mansion. Happy mentioned that Brain had recognized her for her past, but without the context of the conversation she couldn't recall how or where she would have met the leader of a dark guild.

But from what she had heard, the entity had been incredibly powerful. Dealing with both Gray and Natsu without even breaking a sweat and wielding magic that Lucy had no knowledge of, something that should be impossible for a mere spirit to do.

 _But if it wasn't just a simple possession spell then…what was it?_ She continued to think, turning her head upwards in an attempt to get a new perspective but failing to think up anything else.

"Hey Lu! Why are you hiding away in the corner of the guild? Come join us!" Levy greeted, grabbing Lucy's hand and pulling her back out into the guild.

"Amazing! It's a female Happy!" "She's so cute!" Lucy heard some of the other members shouting as they gathered around Wendy, Mira moving to the front of the crowd.

"Hello there, I'm Mirajane."

"Oh wow! First I got to meet Erza and now Mirajane! Mirajane in the flesh!" Wendy cried out to Carla, the white cat crossing her paws seemingly unimpressed.

"I assume that you're just like Happy, Carla, but what kind of magic do you use Wendy?" the silver haired barmaid asked, Carla instantly reacting crying out in rage.

"Hold on! Don't you dare compare me to that foolish tomcat!" She shouted, but Wendy and Mira simply ignored her.

"I use sky magic! I'm actually a Sky Dragon Slayer!" Wendy announced with a smile.

The guild froze for a moment before breaking out into even louder cheers. Each person yelling so loudly that Lucy couldn't help but flinch.

"This is awesome! We have even more Dragon Slayers now!" Macao shouted out, the others cheering just as loudly in response.

"Alright then! Let's give our two new members a good old Fairy Tail welcome!" The Master announced as he held up a flask of beer, many members following his lead.

Lucy for her part smiled, managing to shake off Levy and making her way into the corner of the guild.  _Well…I suppose I can put those thoughts aside for the moment. Especially since everyone made it out of that fight alright._ She thought as she dodged a bottle of beer.

The next few days were almost entirely normal, Or at least as normal as things ever got in the Fairy Tail guild hall. Lucy was sitting alongside Wendy, Carla, Happy, and Natsu, the four chatting about inconsequential things as they lounged around. It hadn't taken long for Wendy to fit in with the rest of the guild, spending a particularly large amount of time around Natsu, who apparently was her hero, and Lucy, as she was only one door down from Lucy in Fairy Hills. Lucy for her part enjoyed spending time with the young blue haired dragon slayer, as Wendy reminded her of some of the better times she had experienced in the institute.

"So…shall we do something?" Lucy eventually asked, growing slightly tired with the monotony. While she didn't particularly need to go out on a job, Wendy was still quite young and could probably use the experience. While Natsu was constantly complaining about how he and Happy needed food money.

"I would be happy to go!" Wendy agreed with a smile as she stood up and looked to Natsu.

"Sure! Happy and I'll go get us a job. You two-." Natsu started to agree when Max and Warren burst through the doors, shocked but happy expressions on their faces.

"Big news everyone!" they shouted as bells began to ring throughout the town. Lucy, Wendy, and Carla all looking around in confusion.

"This is…" Lucy murmured.

"Oh ya! So the old bastards finally home is he?" Natsu shouted out as he jumped from the table, others in the guild mirrioring his excitement. "Gildarts is back!" He finished, followed shortly by an affermitive "Aye" from Happy.

"Gildarts? Who is that?" Lucy questioned, not recognizing the name from the list of Fairy Tail names that she could recall.

"He's the strongest wizard in Fairy Tail of course!" Mira commented as she walked up to their group, Erza following directly after her.

"Oh? I thought Laxus or Erza were the strongest." Lucy replied, her eyes wide in surprise as everyone sprinted around the guild like chickens without heads.

"Oh no, Laxus and I don't even compare to him." Erza admitted with a smile of her own, her eyes glued to the front door.

"I see…and is it considered a big deal for him to come back?" Lucy continued as she gestured over her shoulder at the throng of people who were beginning to leap into the air in excitement, Natsu being chief among them.

"Its like a carnival Carla!" Wendy commented with a smile, the white cat crossing her arms and glaring out at the other members in response.

"They certainly are unruly."

"Of course they are. It's been three years since he left on a job after all."

"Three years?...Was he out on a decade quest then?" Lucy questioned as she recalled the commonly used term for some of the more difficult wizarding jobs.

"Actually, Gildarts took on a Century quest." Erza corrected, both Lucy and Wendy whipping their heads around to stare at her in shock.

"I-incredible…he's so powerful he can go one Century Quests?" Wendy breathlessly asked, Erza nodding in response.

"He is indeed. He is truly one of the greatest mages of our generation." She added as another alarm began to sound outside.

"Citizens of Magnolia. Prepare for the Gildarts shift. I repeat, please prepare for the Gildarts shift." The voice announced as all eyes turned to the door.

"What exactly is the Gildarts shift?" Lucy questioned as the ground began to shake, Lucy Wendy and Carla moving to the door just in time to see the city shift into two, leaving a path directly into the guild hall.

"Oh…that was surprising."

"Gildarts wields Crash magic, so rather than risk buildings to him when he isn't paying attention the city simply decided it was easier to move buildings out of his way." Erza explained, Mira giggling off to the side as she did so.

"Wow! He sounds amazing!" Wendy commented in excitement.

"Yes…amazingly stupid." Carla returned.

The guild remained relatively quiet for the next few minute, everyone simply staring at the door with barely contained excitement. But after a time a tall, orange haired man walked through the door looking very confused. But apparently this was the man they were waiting for as Natsu ran forward almost immediately.

"Oy Gildarts! Fight me!" He challenged, the newcomer completely ignoring him and instead moving to stand in front of Mira.

"Welcome home Gildarts!"

"Oh, hello miss. I was wondering if you could tell me what happened to Fairy Tail?" Gildarts asked Mira, the white haired barmaid laughing at him.

"You're standing in it. I'm Mira, remember?" She asked, Gildarts's eyes narrowing for a second before shooting open in recognition.

"No way! Mira? You've changed so much! And did you guys do some renovations while I was away?" The massive man questioned as he stared up at the ceiling in surprise.

But before anyone could answer him Natsu charged forward, yelling something about wanting a fight. But the fire dragon slayer could land a single hit, instead being sent flying into the same ceiling that he had been inspecting moments ago.

"Gildarts…it's good to see you again. So how did the job go?" The Master eventually asked from his spot on the bar, Gildarts walking up to him and laughing boisterously as he did so.

"Ha ha…no good, way too much for me to handle." He admitted, much to the apparent surprise of everyone around Lucy.

_So this Century Quest is so difficult even the strongest of Fairy Tail couldn't accomplish it? I wonder…_

"Absolutely not." Erza immediately declared, sending a withering gaze at Lucy. "There's no way you could do it."

"I suppose so, at least not as I am now." Lucy admitted, Wendy sending her a confused glance.

"M-miss Lucy…you think that you could…" She started to question but stopped, apparently deciding against it.

"Forgive me for brining shame on the guild." Gildarts apologized, Makarov simply laughing off his apology and informing him that Gildarts was apparently the only person who had returned alive.

"Well then, I'm gonna head home for the day…oh, and Natsu, make sure that you stop by my place later. I've got something for you." Gildarts called out before turning and walking directly through the wall, the bricks disintegrating into smaller pieces as he did so.

"Well that was certainly interesting." Lucy commented as Natsu too broke down an entirely different wall with Happy hot on his tail.

"That was so exciting! Is Fairy Tail always like this?" Wendy looked up and asked, Lucy simply shrugging her shoulders in response.

"I suppose so, or at least it has been since I've joined."

"Ya, that's Fairy Tail for you." Gray commented as he too walked up, his shirt long gone.

"Hmph…then perhaps it was a mistake for the two of us to join this guild of buffoons." Carla commented Wendy laughing almost painfully as they made their way back to their seat, now joined by Gray and Erza.

"Nevermind that, were you three considering taking a job?" Erza asked, both Lucy and Wendy nodding along. "Then I shall go and procure us a request."

"Should we not wait for Natsu?" Lucy added, Gray shaking his head in response.

"Nah, we can just take a quick one. Plus whenever Gildarts shows up they spend time together so it's fine to go without him."

"I see…then I will wait here."

"I'd actually like to see the request board too, if you don't mind Miss Erza. I'm not quite sure how your request board works yet." Wendy asked with her hands clashed in front of her.

"Sure, I don't see not. Gray, go and procure us the supplies we would require for the job. Wendy, Carla, come with me and we will determine what job we shall take." Erza announced, their group breaking up.

"I suppose I should prepare for combat, as that tends to be the type of requests our team takes." Lucy thought out loud as she stood and moved for the door, intending to go home and retrieve her bow. However, she stopped when she noticed a newspaper sitting on a nearby table with a headline that immediately drew Lucy's attention.

Her eyes quickly scanned the article, her eyes narrowing with every passing second. _This is…big. I need to look into this._ Lucy eventually decided as he picked up the newspaper and made her way over to the counter where the Master was still sitting on the counter.

"Ah Lucy, is there anything I can do for you my Dear?" the Master asked when Lucy had gotten close enough to have a conversation.

"Yes and no." Lucy admitted as she handed over the newspaper. "I must go and investigate this in the kingdom of Pergrande. I will be gone for at least a few days and up to a month. I just wanted to gain your permission for a leave of absence."

"…a recent archaeological discovery in the Kingdom of Pergrande? And you require a leave of absence for this?" Makarov confirmed, looking up from the article to see Lucy nodding in confirmation. "May I ask why you need to go in person?"

"…I'm sorry Master, but I cannot." Lucy eventually admitted, the Master nodding his head and closing his eyes in response.

"I see…but I suppose that in itself is a conformation in and of itself." The Master replied before smiling up at the young blonde. "Very well then, go have fun looking for whatever answers your looking for."

"Thank you Master." Lucy replied with a bow before stepping away and making a beeline for Erza and Wendy, the two still standing in front of the job board.

"Erza?" Lucy called out, the scarlet haired mage turning around with a questioning look. "Unfortunately something has come up. I will be unable to join you on the mission. I apologize."

"I see…that is truly a shame." Erza murmured as she crossed her arms. "I suppose we should simply hold off for the moment then, as without both you and Natsu it simply won't be the same."

"I see…well, I'm sorry Wendy. I have gotten in the way of one of your first Fairy Tail wizarding jobs." Lucy also apologized to the younger slayer, the blue haired girl's eyes going wide as she waved her hands in front of her.

"Oh no! Don't worry about it. I hope whatever you have to take care of goes well." Wendy instantly commented with a smile, Lucy returning the gesture in kind.

"Yes…well then, I have to be going. Please apologize to Gray for me." And with that Lucy left the guild hall. But she did not return to her dorm room as she originally intended, instead heading straight for the train station in order to take the first train east. As she sat down on one of the many empty seats, she couldn't help but look at the massive stone structure that had been become her home over the last few months.

"Well…it's not like I'll be gone forever, so there's no reason to feel bad about leaving…but for some reason I can't help but feel bad about not letting Natsu know…I wonder why?" Lucy questioned to no one in particular as the train lurched gently forward and began to make its way closer to the border. And with nothing more to do, Lucy simply closed her eyes and waited for time to pass, ignorant of the fact that a nearby child was asking his mother about "the weird lady who was talking to herself."

* * *

Natsu ran through the streets of Magnolia with no real destination in mind. Did Gildarts really come into contact with a dragon, a dragon that did all that to the most powerful mage Natsu had ever met? But if this dragon was such a bastard that he would do that then Gildarts was probably right, it wouldn't be all that willing to tell Natsu about his dad.

 _Damn it, damn it, damn it! Why does it seem like every time I get one step closer something just has to get in the way!_  Natsu complained as stumbled into a nearby river, floating to the surface to stare up at the sky.

"…Is this how Luce feels looking for them too?" Natsu murmured quietly; quiet enough that not even a dragon slayer would pick up on it. "I guess I should let Luce know about this…maybe she'll let me in on some of her information." Natsu decided with a sigh. "Damn it pops…where the hell are you?"

* * *

Lucy maneuvered though the streets of the last top to the border of Bosco, a little town called Minithas, with practiced ease. This was hardly the first time she had gone across international borders, although gods willing this might be her last. The trains that would take her further east needed to be inspected by Boscoian border guards, and that would take time. So until they gave the all clear all passengers had nothing to do but wait and Minithas wasn't exactly a tourist destination.

So with nothing to do Lucy simply made her way through the town in search of something to eat. As she hadn't had anything for dinner and night had fallen long ago.

"Thank goodness the Council fell for that trick with Jellal, or otherwise I might not have had enough money for this trip." Lucy thought out loud as she sought out the source of a particularly potent scent, a scent that reminded her of smoked beef with a strange twist.

But as she approached she began to notice the sounds of a disturbance, one man in particular yelling loud enough to cause Lucy to flinch. "You think you can just come in here and try to pay with that crap? I'm from Bosco and I only take Bosco coin, not this Fiorian crap." The man shouted as Lucy turned the final corner to see what she could only assume was the owner of the food cart yelling at four travelers, four travelers that caused Lucy's eyes to grow wider slightly in surprise.

"Look, like I said, I don't get what the problem is. Isn't all money the same? Why can't you just take this?" Shô questioned in confusion, a completely befuddled look on his face as well as the faces of his companions.

 _I never expected to see them again._ Lucy thought to herself as she continued to approach. Under normal circumstances she wouldn't dare get involved, as she couldn't afford to get into a disagreement with border guards, but these were Erza's friends and therefore friends of Fairy Tail. She couldn't afford to bring shame onto the guild though her actions.

"Excuse me, Sir?" Lucy interrupted before the cart owner could continue. All eyes turning to her while four pairs grew large in shock. "If I may, I believe this should cover their expenses for the meal." Lucy explained as she handed over a Boscoian that would more than cover any amount of food they could have eaten. The look on the owners' face matching her prediction that she was indeed overpaying for the food.

"Are you certain lass? This isn't exactly your problem." The cart owner questioned as he sent a glare in Shô's direction, the blonde boy flinching slightly under the gaze.

"It's alright; these are old friends of mine." Lucy replied, not exactly lying but not telling the truth either. "Isn't that right Simon?"

"It is indeed Lucy, it is good to see you again." The turban wearing man returned with a smile, the metal jaw he had been wearing last time replaced with a less conspicuous one.

"Well then fine…but if you boys consider yourselves to be men then stop letting your lasses pay for meals. It's disrespectful." The cart owner grumbled as he reached into his cart and handed Lucy what could be only described as a mixture of meat on a large piece of bread-like substance. "Here you go lass, for your trouble."

"Thank you, and I'm sorry for the trouble." Lucy said as she accepted the meat, the cart owner nodding before moving away to serve others.

"Well that was strange, why are the guys here so angry all the time?" Millianna questioned to no one in particular.

"It's simply how the men in Bosco are." Lucy replied as she bit into the food, almost gagging at the sheer quantity of grease that was attempting to escape from her mouth.

"He was certainly dandy…but enough about that! What's a broad like you doing so far away from your guild? Is Erza here as well?" Wally added before turning to Lucy, the other former slaves doing so as well.

"No, I'm afraid that Erza is not with me today. I am here on personal business." Lucy denied before taking another bite.

"Awww…I was hoping to see Big Sis Erzy again, but oh well. Thanks for the help earlier, Simon said we should get some supplies before crossing the border, but when we tried to buy stuff they wouldn't take our money and that all lead to the fight with that guy who wouldn't sell us that delicious looking food." Millianna explained with a snicker.

"I am greatly embarrassed by my failure. I had thought that I had researched this enough, but it appears I was unprepared." Simon admitted with a bow of his head.

"You don't need to feel embarrassed; it's a mistake that many who attempt to cross borders for the first time make…but one moment." Lucy started before realizing what exactly Millianna had said. "How exactly did you plan to enter Bosco?"

"Why walking of course, how else would we get there?" Shô replied with a look like Lucy was the one saying something strange, despite the fact that this was one of the only times she was knowable about what needed to happen.

"I see…but if you entered a country in such a manner then you would be considered illegal immigrants and be hunted during your time in the country." Lucy explained in a lecturing tone, Erza's companions all looking at her in shock as they processed the information.

"Seriously? That's not dandy at all!" Wally moaned as he bit into his own meal.

"…Then we owe you even more for your help, Miss Lucy. We would have been in major trouble if you hadn't shown up when you did." Shô added with a grateful smile.

"Ya, ya! That was really nice of you Lu-lu!" Millianna thanked Lucy as well, Lucy pausing for a second to process the new nickname before continuing to eat.

Their group ate in silence for a moment before Lucy finally decided to ask something of the others. "If you don't mind me asking, where exactly are you planning to go?"

"We do not have a particular destination in mind; we are simply trying to see as much as the world as we can." Simon explained, the others nodding in agreement.

"I see…then if it's ok with you, would you like to accompany me as I travel by train to Pergrande? I have with me a note from the Fiorian Magic Council that grants me and my companion's diplomatic immunity. If you wish to cross the border then I can get you across."

"You would…you would be willing to do so much for us?" Simon questioned incredulously. "We can't even pay for our own tickets."

But Lucy was undisturbed by their caution. "It is fine; you are friends of Erza's and therefore friends of mine. Erza and Fairy Tail taught me that it's normal to watch out for friends…right?" Lucy explained before making sure that she was indeed correct.

But rather than receiving an answer, Lucy was confused when Millianna and Wally began to cry, while Simon and Shô looked away from her. Had she said something wrong?

"To think that after everything we did to you guys you still think of us as friends…Erzy really found a good home after leaving the tower." Millianna gushed, Lucy tilting her head in confusion as the brown haired girl spoke.

"We would be honored to join you, Lucy of Fairy Tail." Simon replied to her offer, the others nodding their heads in agreement.

"I see…well, I doubt that they've finished with the train by now, so we still have time to finish our meals." Lucy announced as she once again set herself against the beast of grease that was in her hands.

Eventually their group made their way back onto the train, Lucy having purchased enough tickets for the others, and settled down into a row of seats. As this was one of the last trains for the night, and a train that was headed across the border, there would even under normal circumstances be almost no one there. But at that time of night they were the only ones present in the car, and quite possibly the train itself, was their small group. Most of their group instantly settled down for the night, leaving just Lucy and Simon to stare out the window.

For awhile they were quiet, both simply enjoying the silence, but eventually Simon turned to the blonde with an almost nervous expression.

"Do you not intend to sleep Ms. Lucy?"

"Ah, no not now. I am never truly able to grow that comfortable on trains." Lucy explained as she looked away from the window.

"I see…then do you mind if I ask you something?" Simon started, waiting for Lucy to nod before continuing. "Why have you been looking so depressed this entire time?"

"…Eh?"

"Forgive me if I'm overstepping my bounds, but from the moment you arrived you've had an almost sad air about you. Almost as if you might break out in tears at any moment." Simon continued with what appeared to be legitimate concern on his face.

Lucy blinked slowly as she processed what the shadow mage had said. Did she really look that way? Is that why Levy and Wendy had been constantly asking if she was doing alright ever since she returned from the Oración Seis fight?

 _But why would I…ah, was it that?_ Lucy though for a moment before arriving at the most obvious reason, a reason that did cause her emotional state to take a dip. "Well…when I consider the past few weeks, there is something that comes to mind. But it's…a long and painful story, especially for those who were at the Tower of Heaven."

"I see…but you don't need to worry, I will be fine." Simon returned with a patient smile. "I've grown used to listening to others troubles over the years."

"Oh, ok then…well, it all started when the Master decided to send us to battle against a dark guild…" Lucy slowly explained everything that had happened, from meeting with the other members of the alliance, to losing control over her body and attacking the others.

But when Lucy finally got to the end of the battle she finally understood why she was feeling slightly off, and the answer she arrived at was just as much a surprise to her as it must have been for the others to see her behaving that way back then.

"I see…so Jellal was there…" Simon murmured with his arms crossed, a complicated look on his face.

"Yes, from what I've heard after the battle in the Tower he was freed from a mental control spell that had been affecting him for years."

"…I'm afraid that I don't quite understand, why do you feel sadness from having saved Jellal from imprisonment?"

"It's not that...not really." Lucy denied as she clenched her hands in her lap. "Its just…they didn't trust me."

"…come again?"

"Uh…well…I thought that after everything we've been through Erza and the others would have trusted me to do the right thing. But they all thought that I would break my oath to the Master not to kill again. And when they looked at me like that…it hurt, it hurt a lot and I don't understand why."

The two were silent after that, Simon watching Lucy carefully while Lucy studied her hands in great detail. But when Simon began to chuckle quietly Lucy looked up at him in confusion. "You've changed; I would have never imagined the cold and calculating mage that tried to stab me only weeks ago would one day be sitting across from me, feeling anxious over trust issues."

"…I don't see how I've changed, but do you have any way to explain away this hurt?"

"Hmm...While I can't speak for everyone in this alliance of light guilds, as far as Erza's concerned it's not too difficult to understand what happened." Simon started, smiling sadly at the mention of the requiping mage. "For her, this was the first time in over a decade that she had gotten a chance to speak to the Jellal she remembered. And as it's clear she cares deeply for both of you she would of course panic when she saw you pointing your bow at Jellal. But I'm certain that if you take the time to speak to her she will be more than willing to apologize."

"Mmm…she did say something about striking her before." Lucy recalled, Simon staring at her curiously for a moment before continuing.

"Well, despite her more… "interesting" habits that she formed after her time in the Tower, I am certain that Erza does trust you, with her life if need be, and is that not how Fairy Tail works? Do you not consider yourselves to be a family of sorts?"

"I suppose your right…I just thought that maybe they…I'm not sure." Lucy murmured, not really able to put her thoughts into words.

"Well, regardless of the others, shouldn't you be happy that at least one saw though your acting?" Simon continued to comfort, laughing slightly at Lucy's confused look. "Didn't you say that the Salamander was the only one present who believed in you? Although from what I saw in the Tower that night it's not exactly shocking to believe that he was the one to trust you."

Lucy couldn't help but smile at that. It was true; she did feel nice and warm inside when she thought back to Natsu trusting in her the whole time. And even if she didn't understand what exactly the warm feeling was, she enjoyed it.

"I guess." Lucy eventually finished with a yawn, blinking slowly as sleep began to brush against her mind. "If you don't mind, I would like to get some sleep. As it has been some time since I slept last."

"Of course, have a nice rest, Ms. Lucy." Simon replied as he too leaned back and closed his one eye.

Lucy nodded and leaned her head against the cold glass of the train, allowing her eyes to slowly close as Dragon Lucy began to shut down her conscious thoughts. But despite her thoughts fading, Lucy couldn't help but think back to her pink haired partner.

* * *

Natsu stomped through the streets of Magnolia with a pout on his face. He was still somewhat pissed off about what Gildarts had told him about that black dragon bastard, but as he came closer and closer to the guild his mood began to improve. He could just take a job with Lucy and the others after all, that would get his mind off his pops.

Kicking the door to the guild open, Natsu confidently strolled in with a grin on his face. "Heya Luce! Let's go on a job!" he shouted, fully expecting to see a head of blonde hair rise out of the sea of faces.

But contrary to his belief no thick blondes stood up to smile at him, leaving him even more confused than normal.

"Sorry Natsu, Lucy hasn't shown up yet today." Mira called out from the bar to the right, worry clearly evident on her face.

"Seriously? Luces' always here early…did she say anything yesterday?" Natsu asked as he walked over to the bar, Erza and Ice Balls sitting on the counter already.

"She was behaving strangely yesterday when we were discussing going on a job." Erza added, ignoring Natsu enraged shout at the thought of being left behind while everyone else went on a mission." The group was silent for a moment as they tried to figure out what was wrong with the strange blonde. And when the one of the newest members of Fairy Tail lifted her hand, all eyes instantly going to her.

"U-um…actually, this morning I tried to go talk to her, because she was looking really upset. But when she never answered her door and I couldn't smell her in her room. I…I don't think she came home last night."

"Wait what? Did something happen to her?!" Natsu shouted as he leapt up from his bar stool.

"I'm not really sure…I didn't really pick up on any new scents, but…I'm still new here and don't really know the smells all that well. I'm sorry" Wendy apologized with a bow.

"You don't need to apologize, Child. It's the fools fault for being so excitable." Carla immediately commented, glaring slightly at Natsu for making Wendy upset.

Natsu opened his mouth, intending to rally the others for a search, but stopped when the Master cleared his throat from farther down the bar. "You don't need to be concerned Natsu. Lucy spoke to me yesterday and informed me of her intentions."

"Huh? Then what did she say Gramps?" Natsu asked as he moved to the old man's side and leaned forward, Makarov knocking him on the head in order to force him backwards.

"She informed me she would be taking a week or so to herself to travel somewhere." The Master announced, the eyes of all those listening growing wider in surprise.

"Wait, what?! Where the hell did she go?" Natsu demanded, pissed that his partner went on vacation without him.

"She wouldn't say, but she did show this to me first." The Master continued as he handed Natsu a newspaper clipping, the fire dragon slayer grabbing it out of his hands to quickly read the contents.

"…A newly discovered ruin found in Pergrande Kingdom, predates all known archeological sites in the region. Archeologists scramble to uncover its meaning…Ok, so what does this have to do with Luce?" Natsu asked, not full able to work out why Lucy would be interesting in digging in the sand.

The Master opened a single eye to stare at Natsu before continuing. "Think boy, I said that Lucy told me she "Couldn't" tell me where she was going. What was the one thing that Lucy has refused to talk about?"

The morning continued to tick by as Natsu thought desperately to figure out what exactly the old man was saying. And by the time that the others were finally beginning to lose interest in what was happening Natsu managed to connect the dots, his mind going back to the day after the Hakobe job.

"So she went looking for the dragons then? Damn, I was hoping she would at least let me know the next time she was going out to look for them." Natsu clarified, sighing heavily when the Master nodded his head.

For a brief moment the guild was quiet, the various members processing the newly acquired information, but that silence only lasted for a moment before Gajeel jumped to his feet, a furious but confused look on his face.

"Oi Salamander! What the hell does that mean? Why would Bunny Girl be looking for the dragons?" He shouted as he ran over, Juvia hot on his heels.

"Mr. Natsu, Juvia as well would like to know why Ms. Lucy would be looking for dragons."

Natsu stared at the two curiously for a second before turning to look at Wendy, seeing a look that appeared to be on the verge of crying.

"M-Ms. Lucy…is looking for the dragons?" She murmured like she was in a daze, Carla pulling on her dress in order to make sure that she was ok.

"Wait a sec…I get Wendy and Carla not knowing about this, but why don't you know about Lucy Gajeel? Didn't your old bastard of a master tell you guys why you were after her?"

Juvia shook her head, looking down in depression at the mention of the Phantom War. "No, Master Jose told us nothing as to why we were to take Ms. Lucy. Juvia and the rest of the elemental four simply followed our orders at the time."

"Same here, didn't really care why he wanted her so long as I got the chance to beat you down." Gajeel added, his eyes narrowed as he recalled the strange fear he had felt that day in the warehouse.

"Huh…well, Lucy's a dragon slayer too and she knows something about where the dragons are." Natsu explained casually, almost like he was talking about the fish he had caught with Happy the other day. And when he finished he couldn't help but enjoy the choking noises that both Wendy and Gajeel were making, as well as the wide eyed, opened mouth face that Juvia had on.

But his enjoyment was cut short when Erza moved behind him and knocked him on the back of the head. "Truly Natsu? Did you really believe that was the best way to let them know?"

"Eh, what's the big deal? It's not like it's a secret or anything."

"L-Lucy is a…dragon slayer…too?" Wendy eventually managed to stutter as she regained her breath, while Gajeel growled angrily and slammed his fist down on the bar.

"Bullshit! There's no way blondies' a dragon slayer too! I've seen her use her magic and there's no way those elemental things are in any way related to dragons!"

"Ya, no shit Sherlock. Her dragon slaying magic is sealed after all."

"Sealed? Why would Ms. Lucy seal her own magic?" Juvia questioned with an embarrassed tint to her cheeks, as she realized that nearly all the guild had stopped to stare at them.

Natsu opened his mouth to answer, but stopped before saying anything. Should he really be telling other people about her past? Even if they're people from the guild? Sure, Luce did tell them all herself after everything that went down, but even Natsu could tell she wasn't exactly keen on the idea of spreading the news of her misdeeds to the world. Natsu glanced at Gramps, looking for either his permission or for the old man to take charge.

And the elderly wizard saint did so, clearing his throat and drawing all gazes to him. "When I asked, Lucy gave us permission to tell others about her past at our own discretion. But know that once you know this information, you may not tell anyone outside the guild for the rest of your days. Understand?" He asked in an authoritative tone, all three nodding after only a few seconds of hesitation. "Very well then. Lucy's tale starts at the Heartfilia institute…"

* * *

Lucy shielded her eyes as she adjusted to the bright light outside the train. After a night and most of a day riding the accursed locomotive they had finally arrived at their destination, Pergrande, the oldest kingdom in Ishgar.

Many considered the Pergrande kingdom to be the a nation at the forefront of scientific achievement, as mages and magic were not quite as well respected as other parts of the continent, but the truth was that the kingdom was beginning to slip into decline and was using magicians as a scapegoat for their troubles and that the ruling class was simply grasping at straws in an attempt to remain relevant. And how exactly did Lucy know about this? Because it was because of her efforts, along with others at the Institute, who started the kingdom on its path of decay as many of their missions took place within its borders, something she would forever feel guilty for.

"Oh wow! So many castles!" Millianna shouted as she too exited the train, staring up at the many towering stone structures that surrounded them.

"Indeed, it appears that this lands nickname of "Kingdom of Ancient Stone" is well deserved. Simon added as he too walked out of the train, readjusting his turban as he did so.

"While the sights might be just dandy, was there something specific we're here for?" Wally asked before seemingly realizing he was being somewhat rude, causing him to wave his hands in denial. "Don't get me wrong. It's not like I don't appreciate the free ticket and all…"

"Don't worry, I'm not offended." Lucy denied as she turned and pointed to the south. "I have come here to investigate some newly discovered ruins. But if you wish to explore these lands on your own I won't stop you."

"Actually, Ms. Lucy, I would like to accompany you on your mission. If it's all the same to you." Simon asked, his companions looking at him in surprise.

"You sure Simon?" Shô asked, Simon nodding almost instantly.

"Quite sure." He answered before looking back at Lucy. "Please give me some time to decide on a meeting place with these three and I will meet you at the south gate. Is that acceptable?"

"I have no issues with it. Then I shall meet later. Millianna, everyone, please take care." Lucy said with a bow before tensing slightly in surprise as Millianna hugged her.

"Bye-bye Lu-Lu. Tell Erzy that we miss her!" The cat girl cried out, the other two saying something similar before all four moved off into the crowd. Lucy watched them go in a daze, shocked by the fact that they cared enough about her to say goodbye considering that she had almost no interaction with them.

 _And now that I think about it, why would Simon want to come with me? I cannot think of any noteworthy reason for him to desire to come with me._  Lucy thought as she started to make her way through the crowd and through one of the many stone gates that separated the sections of the massive castle city. Unlike Crocus, the capitol of Pergrande was surrounded in massive stone walls with even more walls separating sections of the city and segregating the population.

But the gates were mostly for show during the current era, as no wars had occurred on Ishgar in generations. And as such it was quite easy for Lucy to reach the outer gate and lean against the wall in one of the many shadows cast by the rampart, waiting for the one eyed man to arrive.  _I wonder…why did Jude Heartfilia send us here most of the time? With all the research that I've done, I have yet to determine any legitimate reason for us to focus on this nation other than the fact that it has more ruins than any other nation in the area…but even that doesn't sound quite right._

The time continued to pass, Lucy simply watching as people came and went from the castle walls, but by noon Lucy managed to pick out the form of a massive man with an eye patch approaching. Lucy leaving her spot on the wall to get his attention.

"I apologize Ms. Lucy, have you been here long?"

"No, its fine. I've grown accustomed to waiting in my life." Lucy denied as she turned and walked out of the city, Simon following after her a second later. "The ruins that I've come to see lie about an hour walk south. Do you have any issues with walking or shall I procure us a carriage?"

"I have no issue with a nice walk, as I am in no hurry." Simon answered with a smile. "The others will be adequately content to tour the city for the next few days. So I see no issue with taking our time."

"I see…then let us proceed." Lucy replied with a nod.

The walk to the ruins was, much to Lucy's surprise, actually quite peaceful. As she wasn't ever someone who would engage in conversation first, and Simon seemed content with the silence the two moved in silence as they walked down the road. It was the first time in a long time that Lucy could simply enjoy nature for what it was, as the climate of Pergrande as very similar to Fiore, covered in green grass and tall trees that provided plenty of shade.

In truth, Lucy had always enjoyed being amongst nature, as after escaping from the institute and remaining free from the Magic Council's hands Lucy spent over a year living in the wilds of Fiore. Searching for clues pertaining to the lost dragons had taken her deep into the wilds of Fiore and as such Lucy had learned to appreciate nature for what it was, absolutely beautiful.

Of course her time in the wild wasn't always a good thing, as her time alone would often conjure the ghosts of her fellow cellmates, their eyes watching her constantly from the shadows. But ever since she had been kidnapped after the events of Hargeon they had grown less and less obvious, even when she was alone like now…but for what reason they were beginning to leave her alone was something Lucy couldn't understand.

And she wouldn't have the time to understand it, as the answer still eluded her even when they rounded the final hill that separated them from the excavation, both standing on the hill and staring down at their destination. The recently discovered ruins, like many ruins in Pergrande, wasn't too far from the capital itself and at first glance seemed to be just a pile of old mossy stones clumped together in strange formations, or at least that's how it appeared to Lucy.

But this one was different. Sure, Lucy could still see the random assortment of old stones, covered in vegetation, but just as the article had claimed a massive underground complex had been discovered, hidden by the earth and predating any ruins that had been discovered in the nation. And it was for their sake that Lucy had risked the train ride to come here.

"Ms. Lucy, is this…?" Simon questioned but trailed off as Lucy nodded her head, turning to stare at the ruins that were swarming with men and women wearing brown archeological outfits. "If this is truly the sight you've come here to see, how exactly do you intend to enter? I highly doubt that they will simply let us waltz into their excavation without questioning us thoroughly.

"That is not an issue, as I do not intend to have us enter normally." Lucy answered as she turned and walked a distance into the nearby forest, Simon raising an eyebrow at her actions but following after her nonetheless. The two moved a good distance into the shade that the trees provided before Lucy finally stopped and held out her arm, the brown Lacrima on her arm glowing brightly. "Oh ever shifting spirit of the earth, manifest your champion before me. Come forth; Cybele." Lucy chanted, a pink haired maid appearing with a bow in the next second.

"Hello Mistress, have you called upon me to punish me?" Cybele asked with a hopeful glint to her eye.

"If you can help me then sure, I would be happy to inflict pain on you." Lucy answered normally; completely oblivious to the strange look that Simon was sending the two of them.

"Excellent, then what orders do you have for me Mistress?"

"I would like you to dig us a tunnel to the ruins over there." Lucy commanded as she pointed over her shoulder. "Deep enough that we won't encounter other humans but still relatively towards the surface."

"Understood…then I shall begin." Cybele answered with a bow before beginning to sink into the earth, leaving a large hole in her wake.

Simon and Lucy slowly lowered themselves into the hole and began walking into the soft earth, neither one fully able to see where they were going but as the hole had been carved perfectly flat on the bottom neither one had that much difficulty finding their way. And after a few minutes of walking in near complete darkness they reached the end, where Cybele was standing against a dirt wall.

"Mistress, I have found the entrance to the ruins. However I decided to wait until you arrived before opening the entrance. If this was the incorrect decision then I will accept your punishment."

"No, your decision was correct." Lucy replied as she rubbed a hand on the dirt wall, feeling stale air blowing from within. "However, I must put off your punishment until later, as right now I require the aid of Loke and his light. Thank you for your aid."

"It is no issue Mistress. Well then, I shall await my punishment in the realm of Earth. Until then." And with that the pink haired elemental vanished in a burst of brown light and was replaced by a bright light that transformed into a brown haired man wearing a green jacket.

"Why hello Princess, what can your humble lover do for you today?" Loke questioned in a smooth voice as he placed a hand around her shoulders, smiling happily as Lucy smiled up at him.

"I need you to light up."

"…I'm sorry?"

"Well, it's really dark down here. So I thought that you could help light up our surroundings…was I wrong?" Lucy clarified and questioned with a look that Mira had taught to her, a look that Mira had claimed "would turn people into putty in her hand's" whatever that meant.

Lucy watched curiously as Loke's face went through various shades of red before he finally coughed loudly and turned away. "Alright, alright, just…stop making that face. I feel like I won't be able to face Natsu again without thinking about that." And with that, the light elemental's body glowed with a gentle white light, illuminating their immediate surroundings.

Lucy nodded at her elemental before facing both of the men who were now accompanying her. "Be aware, I do not know what exactly awaits us inside. It is entirely possible that hostile entities await us inside."

"That will not be a problem Ms. Lucy, I have grown stronger since the last time we met."

"Indeed, you have nothing to fear Princess, I will protect you."

And after confirming their readiness Lucy turned back to the loose dirt wall and pressed against it with enough force to cause it to crumble and reveal a massive chamber on the other side. The room was obviously ancient simply based off the stale smell of the air, but even if Lucy couldn't detect the smell from the design inside, a type of architecture that she had never seen before. She could see murals decorating each wall, some depicting creatures that could only be dragons, while others showed human shapes comprised of pure elements standing alongside regular humans.

"This is…impressive workmanship." Simon commented as he walked over to the nearest mural, inspecting with his one good eye.

"Are these depictions of elementals? That's rare." Loke continued as he stood in the center and looked around with an impressed look on his face.

But Lucy had already moved on from the curious decor choices in the room, instead focusing her gaze on the still dark hallway that lead farther into the ruins. "Loke? Would you mind taking point so we can see where exactly we're going?"

"You're not interested in this chamber Lucy?" Loke questioned as he moved to look down the hallway, casting strange shadows down its length.

"No, if this place is as I believe then what I seek should lie in the central area, not one of the outer chambers."

"What you seek is not here Ms. Lucy?" Simon asked, Lucy shaking her head to confirm his question. "Then what is it that we are looking for?"

"The truth of where the dragons vanished to." Lucy answered simply before indicating that Loke should start walking, their small group making their way down the tunnel.

* * *

Natsu nodded grimly as Gramps finished talking about Luce's past, not exactly happy to hear about the shit she went through again, but knew it was necessary for the other two slayers to hear about it too. It did have to do with their absentee parents after all. Turning his head to see the reactions of the three, Natsu was surprised to see that Wendy was actually crying heavily while Gajeel actually looked pretty impressed, his arms crossed and his eyes wide.

"Holy hell…got to admit that I didn't see that coming. Bunny Girl might be a bigger badass than I gave her credit for." Gajeel commented with a low whistle, clearly ignoring the glares that Erza and Gray were sending his way. "Always thought there was something off about her…but to think she was a slayer too. Color me impressed."

"It's sad…it's so sad!" Wendy cried out in between sobs, whipping her eyes as she looked back up. "I can't imagine having to do something like that to Grandeeney to save someone. It's just…so…uwahhh!" Wendy tried to say before breaking out into tears once again.

"You shouldn't get so emotional Wendy…but still, what a shock that such a blank face holds such a secret past. I underestimated her."

"To think that Ms. Lucy holds such a painful past. Juvia is saddened to know one of her first friends has suffered so?"

"Wait a sec, since when were you friends with Lucy? I thought she was your "love rival" or something like that?" Gray questioned as Juvia began to cry.

"Just because she and Juvia must fight tooth and nail for your affection does not mean I hate her."

"Ok, so I get that Bunny Girls had a hard life, but why's she keeping the dragon stuff to herself? You sure that she isn't just yankin your chain?" Gajeel questioned incredulously, Natsu glaring back at him once he finished.

"Are you joking? Would you lie about dragons just to mess with me or something like that?"

"Ge hi…can't say I wouldn't."

"what'd ya say bastard!" Natsu shouted as he leapt at the iron dragon slayer, the two beginning to exchange blows while Erza moved to place a comforting hand on Wendy's shoulder.

"While I cannot claim to understand much when it comes to the dragons, I can say that Lucy would not lie about such a thing. Even if she could understand the concept of manipulating others for her own personal enjoyment. We must simply trust in her until she is ready to reveal what she has learned with the rest of us."

Wendy smiled at that, clenching her fists in front of her chest. "Yes! Your right. I'm certain that Lucy won't hide anything about my mom if she knows something." Wendy commented, Natsu stopping his brawl to stare back at her with a look of sudden realization.

"Oh right Wendy! You should ask Lucy to look in on your mom and see if she's in the wind world, or whatever it's called."

"Huh? She can do that?"

"Yep, she told me awhile ago that my pops isn't there, which means that he's still somewhere in this world." Natsu explained, not wanting to tell the young slayer that if the dragon was in the wind place then that meant she wasn't alive anymore. "And as far as you, Metal Freak, I don't know exactly where Iron would go but you can ask her too."

"Tch…let's get one thing straight. I don't give a shit where the old bastard is or what he's doing. He's the one who abandoned me without a word so why should I give a shit about what happened to him." Gajeel growled as he stood up straight and walked out of the guild, clearly having lost interest in a brawl now that Natsu had brought up his foster father.

"…What's his problem?" Natsu questioned as Wendy looked excitedly at Carla.

"This is fantastic Carla! Not only is there another girl dragon slayer, but she can help me find mom!"

"Yes, yes, now calm down child. You're drawing the attention of everyone in the guild." Carla half chastised, smiling warmly at her blue haired companion.

Natsu too was all smiles for a moment before frowning and looking out the still open door, Erza noticing his strange action and staring at him curiously. "Is something wrong Natsu?"

"Nah, it's nothing…just noticing how boring it is without Lucy here."

"Indeed, without her blissful ignorance it does seem less joyous today." Erza agreed as Mira giggled and put on a dark jacket and began to make for the door. "Going somewhere Mira?"

"Oh, nowhere in particular…after all this talk I figured I could use a trip to the Cardia Cathedral…would you like to come as well Elfman?"

"Ya, ya, Sis. Just let me finish telling off these two idiots." Elfman answered, Jet and Droy flinching and lowering their heads as the massive man turned back to them.

Natsu however had lost interest, huffing and lowing his head down on the nearest wooden table. "Man…I wish something interesting would happen."

* * *

As Lucy and her two male companions continued to move through the ruins she was beginning to become more and more impatient. Not something she felt normally but with the maze-like design of the chambers she was beginning to understand the emotions that others felt when they told her a joke.

Not only where the ruins extensive, larger than anything that Lucy had ever explored before, but each chamber had to be meticulously explored in case some clue had been left behind. She had been certain that the entrance chamber had nothing of importance, as this wasn't the first time she had found ruins of similar design, but now that they were far into the vast underground rooms they were beginning to grow angry with the lack of progress.

"Seriously? How have we not found something yet?" Loke complained as he looked into another side room, seeing nothing but dust and cobwebs inside.

"It is not all that bad; we did find the remains of ancient lacrima devices after all." Simon tired to point out the silver lining in their situation. But even Lucy wasn't having it.

"They serve no purpose to us, as I have seen similar creations before." Lucy muttered angrily as she all but stomped down the hall. "At this point I may have to call this expedition a failure."

"Now, now Princess; let's try for a few more minutes ok?" Loke pacified, Lucy grunting in response but otherwise saying nothing.

But thankfully for all present they didn't have to endure Lucy's pout for too long, as they finally managed to find what could only be the central chamber of the ruins, a chamber that caused all their mouths to fall open in shock, even Lucy. The chamber was absolutely massive, almost as large as the central citadel of Crocus, and decorated with murals that put all the others they had seen to shame. The walls almost appeared to be held up by four massive statues. One depicting a dragon, one a human, one a demon, and the other was a race that Lucy had never seen before, a being that looked almost human but with strange angular protrusions where their ears should be and strange angular lines crossing their body. The chamber was covered in Lacrima devices that even Lucy had no knowledge of; strange creations that were covered in magical tubes that had crack due to their age and where sitting on tracks that would allow the devices to move around the center of the room.

And standing in the center of the room was something that sent a strange sense of nostalgia down Lucy's spine. A massive circular arc stood in the center of the chamber. The strange arch was incredibly similar to the strange massive gate that she had seen in her strange near death experience. And just like the last one the outline of this gate was decorated with the same murals, including the human figure with their arms spread outward.

"Incredible…to think that such a structure could be built underground…I cannot imagine the amount of magic it would take to construct such a structure." Simon murmured, awestruck by the chamber, Loke and Lucy mirroring his look.

"And those statues…demons, dragons, and…what is that fourth one?" Loke questioned as he stared up at the humanlike figure that held up the ceiling, his eyes lingering on the strange protrusions on the sides of its head.

"I do not know, I have seen murals depicting such creatures before but have never seen them mentioned by name." Lucy answered as she walked slowly up to the arch, her body feeling tense for reasons she couldn't quite understand. Once again she could feel her draconic instincts warning her against approaching this strange architecture, but once again she couldn't see any reason to be wary of it beyond the fact that it was clearly significant to those who had once stood in these halls…but what exactly was it?

Lucy's two companions eventually joined her in studying the strange structure before Loke finally spoke up. "This thing…it feels almost like the gateways we elementals use to cross over into your world."

"Truly? Then is it something you could activate?" Lucy asked as she turned to the elemental, Loke already beginning to shake his head in response.

"No, we can't open the gates ourselves. And when an elemental moves through a gate without express permission it's more of us ripping a hole in reality and jumping in as opposed to gates." Loke explained as he narrowed his eyes and glared up at the strange carvings on the gate. "But whoever constructed this monstrosity clearly knew about how elementals moved between planes and your world. But if this is truly a gate…"

"Then where exactly does it lead?" Lucy finished as she too glanced up.

An uncomfortable silence settled between summoner and summoned for a moment before Simon spoke up, drawing their attention.

"Over here! I've found some sort of inscription and control panel." The shadow mage shouted, both Lucy and Loke hurrying over to him. The control panel was old, many of its Lacrima displays having shattered or simply turned to dust, but it was extensive, stretching out in either direction against the wall it rested against. But as Simon had said, the most curious feature was a inscription that was carved directly into its center.

"I have never seen such a language, not even in the materials that Jellal used in the construction of the Tower…have either of you seen it?" Simon asked as he studied the runes.

"No, it looks vaguely similar to the language of the elemental planes but it is still different enough that I can't get a read on it. How 'bout you Lucy?...Lucy?" Loke asked playfully before looking at his summoner and beginning to panic. Something had happened to Lucy the moment her eyes fell on the runes, her eyelids half closed and her eyes glassy as she regarded the strange symbols.

"…Here now, we make our pledge…We, the Kings of the Heavens, proclaim our loyalty to the King. To fight and burn the Chaos…We, the Kings of Life, proclaim our fealty to the King. To guard the sanctity of their line…We, the Children of the King, proclaim our loyalty to the King. To serve their children until our sparks die out."

And before either of her companions could stop her, Lucy placed her right hand on the control panel, the runic letters glowing faintly with a blue light. "I, the King of the One Truth, hereby proclaim my duty. To guard the truth that lies beyond the gate, to fight against the Chaos, to lead my people to their future. Thus…I pass through the gate." She finished, but contrary to the words that were spilling from her mouth, nothing in particular happened. Instead, the control panel sparked as the magic that was spilling from Lucy's body was rejected, sending the blonde mage reeling back with an owlish look on her face.

"Lucy! Are you ok? What happened?" Loke shouted out as he rushed to the blonde's side and started to look over her body, checking for any damages. But Lucy made no move to acknowledge him, her eyes still staring at the control panel that had rejected her.

"This is…is see. I finally managed to do what my mom wanted." Lucy murmured as tears began to leak from her eyes, her body feeling lethargic from the loss of magical energy that the machine had taken from her.

"Wait what?"

"…I know what happened to the dragons." Lucy declared as she stood back up, completely ignoring the shocked look on the Light elementals face. But before Loke could question exactly what she meant by that Simon called out to them once again.

"Ms. Lucy! Whatever you did caused a reaction. One of the Lacrima tubes is glowing." He declared as he pointed down at one of the many tubes that ran from the control panel through the ground, said tube glowing gently with a yellow light as it snaked its way through the floor and out a different door than the one they had come from.

"I see…then let us investigate." Lucy answered as she began to walk slowly along the now illuminated trail, Loke looking like he wanted to continue asking her about what had just happened but giving up with a sigh and following after his master. The three walked for only a few minutes, following their golden outline road, before they finally reached the room that it was leading them to, a room that was just as strange as the previous ones.

"Are those…humans in those pods?" Simon eventually asked as he stared at the strange black pod-like capsules that covered the rooms. Despite the fact that nearly all were dark and broken they could still see the outlines of human figures inside each and every one of them.

"It can't be, the human body would have disintegrated after so long being exposed to the air." Lucy denied as she walked over to one of the broken capsules and peered inside, flinching at the mangled and mechanical forms inside. "These appear to be constructs of some kind. But of what make or origin I cannot tell."

"Machines?" Loke parroted as he too inspected another one, his skin growing paler as he did so. "What is this? Mechanical humans?"

"I've heard of this." Simon muttered quietly. "I can't confirm for certain. But Jellal once looked into a race of mechanical beings that were created by a certain ancient civilization. A race that was capable of wielding magic and powerful beyond compare; the Machias."

"I've never heard of them." Lucy returned, Loke nodding along with her.

"I'm not surprised, there aren't exactly many records of them remaining. But from what I've read they were completely loyal to a royal line, a line that once ruled these lands but died out over four hundred years ago during the time of Zeref. And from the looks of this room the Machias died out with them." Simon continued to explain as he gestured to the destroyed pods. "Whatever these Machinas were placed here for they most certainly cannot accomplish now, someone ensured they would never wake up."

"Then what was still drawing power from in here?" Loke asked the obvious question, a question to which Simon could only shake his head in response to.

"I think I know." Lucy answered from another corner of the chamber, the other two running over to see what she was talking about. And in front of their eyes was a still untouched pod, the human form inside illuminated by the yellow lacrima that was inlaid into the top of the capsule, a lacrima that both Lucy and Loke recognized instantly.

"A lightening elemental lacrima? Were they using it as a power source in order to keep them alive?" Loke asked to no one in particular before smiling at Lucy and slapping her on the back, startling the blonde. "Well, at least now you have a complete set of Elemental gems Lucy, congratulations."

"mmm…" Lucy responded with a noncommittal sound as she reached out and plucked the lighting lacrima from its holder. But to all their surprise, the moment her finger touched the yellow gem electrical arcs began to shoot out from the capsule before racing along the body of the Machias inside. Loke reacted first, pulling away his summoner and shielding her with his body while Simon was only a second behind, leaping away and crossing his arms across his chest in a attempt to protect himself.

Only Lucy remained undisturbed by the indoor electrical storm that was currently raging around them, her eyes glued to the now twitching form within the capsule. The electrical currents continued to arc around its body for a few seconds more before finally receding into the lacrima and leaving nothing but the smell of ozone in the air. And then, a second later, the capsule began to beep incessantly before unlatching, a thin mist emanating from within as the top slowly pulled away to reveal a nude female form inside.

The woman was taller than Lucy by a good foot, her black hair reaching down to her waist and simmering in the dew-like substance that was covering her form. Her body was covered in the same lines that adorned the massive statue in the other room, the lines now revealed to be mechanical divisions between her joints and some whose purpose Lucy couldn't identify. The strange protrusions appeared to be two metal fins that moved upwards and in the same direction as her hair, small lights occasionally blinking on and off along their lengths.

Now that the danger had pasted Loke removed his hands from Lucy's body to stare down at the now revealed female form before them, a low whistle escaping from his lips as he did so. "Well now, I didn't expect that to happen. So what now Lucy?"

But before Lucy could answer the woman eyes opened to reveal two red eyes that stared up at the ceiling with a blank look. The woman slowly stood up, her head not even twitching as she now stared forward, not even acknowledging their presence.

"Statement; power source has been disturbed…internal clock shows a difference of one thousand, six hundred and forty two years…attempting to contact primary server for orders…error; all other Machias units confirmed to be no longer functioning, server unable to be contacted."

The woman's head finally turned to Lucy and the others, her eyes passing over the two men before finally settling on Lucy. "Statement; awakener detected in immediate area. Detecting elemental pathway controllers. Reworking loyalty program in order to better serve awakener…program complete. Now loading personality program."

And with that the woman swung her feet out of the capsule, stood up to her full height before lowering herself down onto her knee and placing a hand over her chest. "Good morning Master. I, last born of the Machias, hereby offer my fealty to thee."

"Ah…good morning." Lucy answered normally, both Simon and Loke looking at her with exasperated looks.

"No ,no, that's not how you should react to a naked lady offering her life to you Lucy." Loke immediately corrected.

"Is that so? Then how should I answer her?" Lucy questioned, Loke sighing before looking down on the still kneeling woman.

"You know…I can't really think of a good way to respond to this."

"You two are awfully calm considering what just happened." Simon commented as the black haired woman's head rose and she held out her hand, the lighting lacrima in her palm.

"Master; please accept this gift as proof of my fealty and complete thy collection of elemental pathway controllers."

"Ah, thank you. But they are called lacrima, not Elemental Pathway controllers." Lucy responded as she accepted the lighting gem and placed it into her now complete bracer, each and every gem lighting slightly as the lighting lacrima slid into place.

"Understood, correcting vocabulary and adopting master's speech patterns…program complete." The metal woman replied with a nod before standing back up, showing off her still nude form to the three of them. "Master, would you like me to load up my tutorial program? Please respond with a yes or no statement."

"Wait, wait, wait…first put this on. Otherwise I won't know where to look." Loke shouted out as he placed his green jacket over the woman's shoulders, the woman not even turning to acknowledge his kindness.

"mmm…yes." Lucy eventually decided with a nod of her head.

"Understood…Greetings, sir or madam, and thank you for awaking this product." The black haired woman started to speak like a snake oil salesman, both Simon and Loke sighing as headaches began to push against their skulls.

"Oh god, it's like having two Lucy's at once. God knows how anything will get done in the guild now." Loke sighed as the black haired woman continued to rattle on, now apparently warning Lucy of all the various issues she could run into by using a Machias.

* * *

"Are you certain that you wish to leave so soon? I'm certain that the others wouldn't mind eating a meal with your again." Simon questioned as he stood across from Lucy and the Machias woman on the train platform. After resealing the ruins and making their way back to the city Loke had gone inside the city to procure the emotionless woman some clothes. A pair of black jeans and a white tee shirt on her body as she stood behind and to the side of Lucy, her head lowered in reverence.

"I'm certain. I've already been away from Fairy Tail longer than I want to be and I'm certain that Natsu would like to see me again." Lucy answered without a hint of hesitation. In truth, she herself wanted to see Natsu for some reason she couldn't identify, but the desire was strong enough that she had no interest in staying in the country any longer than necessary.

"I see…well then, it has been a joy to see you again Ms. Lucy." Simon answered with a smile before holding out his hand, Lucy shaking his hand with a smile of her own. "And if I may, should you ever require my assistance feel free to call on me. You saved both my own life as well as Erza's in that accused tower. And it would dishonor my sister if I failed to repay that debt."

"You have a sister? Erza never mentioned her." Lucy asked curiously, Simon nodding in confirmation.

"Indeed, she and I were separated when they took me to the tower, so I have no idea what happened to her, but I am certain that she's out there somewhere. One day I shall see her again, but until that day I will be traveling with the others."

"Understood, then if I or Fairy Tail ever require help I'll be certain to try and find you." Lucy answered as she moved to stand in the doorway to one of the carriages. "Until next time Simon, I'll give Erza your regards."

"Thank you, until next time." And with that Simon vanished into the train stations crowd. Lucy watching him leave for a moment before going to her seat, her mechanical companion following a step after her.

The two sat in silence for the next few hours the two girls sat in silence, Lucy content with watching the scenery while the Machias simply bowed her head and kneeled on the ground, drawing curious gazes from the other passengers for nearly the entire ride.

But eventually a conversation was struck up, as Lucy began to feel particularly sick from her motion sickness, a sickness that her mechanical servant was quick to pick up on.

"Master, are you feeling ill? In that case I can try to load a medical program in order to aid you. Although I am currently unable to determine if my understanding of medicine will alleviate thy pain."

"M-mm…its fine, there's nothing really you can do about this…actually, now that I think about it, what is your name?"

"Statement; as Machias are mass produced we are not constructed with names. As such it is commonly accepted that the Master shall name their possession." The mechanical woman answered, still kneeling on the floor of the train.

"Oh…then does that mean that I'm the one supposed to name you then?"

"Confirm, Master currently has naming rights for this unit."

Lucy nodded before looking up at the ceiling with a contemplative face, the quest for a name drawing her mind off of the gurgling feeling in the pit of her stomach. For a time they were both quiet and motionless, the only exception is when Lucy invited the black haired woman to sit across from her, but eventually Lucy grew frustrated with her lack of ideas and held out her right hand, a blue light glowing in the spot next to her before Nyneve manifested sitting next to the blonde mage.

"Well this is interesting, to what do I owe the pleasure Lucy and…oh my, this is a surprise." Nyneve first greeted before starting wide eyed at the black haired woman before them. "To think I would see a Machias again. What exactly is happening here Lucy?"

The blonde mage quickly began to explain the situation, Nyneve at first looking surprised before crossing her arms and nodding along with the story. "And as such, I am apparently her master now, and as such I have to name her." Lucy finally finished before turning the look Mira had taught her on the blue haired spirit. "Is there anything you can do to help me? Please?"

"…of course I can, but why are you looking at me like you want to bed me?"

"…? I am not tired right now, but I was told by others that it should allow me to manipulate others in order to do my bidding…did it not work?"

"Of course not, I don't swing that way after all." Nyneve replied with a huff before staring at the Machias on the other side of the seat. "So a name then? And you're ok with something I'll give you?"

"Statement; as you serve the Master as well, your name will be considered equal to a name from our Master." The red eyed woman answered in a neutral tone.

"I see then…well then I have just the name! The name that the first King gave to the firstborn of your race." Nyneve exclaimed with a gentle clap of her hands. "She who possessed a weapon that struck with precision yet unmatched, the loyal archer of the king; Artemis."

"Artemis…confirmed, rewriting name program…complete. This unit shall henceforth be known as Artemis and shall respond to such." The now named woman stated as she once again stood to bow again. "I thank you, Master and Elemental, for granting me this name. I once again renew my oath to serve you until the spark in my chest."

"Mmm…one moment, what exactly do you mean "The Spark in your chest" do you require electrical currents to remain active?" Lucy questioned as Artemis returned to her seat.

"Affirmation; indeed, while this unit is nearby Master it will absorb access electrical currents from your Lighting lacrima. In other situations, Artemis will require a burst of energy in order to operate under long range situations. Without this energy, this unit will enter a power conservation mode and cease higher functions in order to ensure normal operation. It is advised that Master pay close attention to these alerts, as I stated in the user explanation earlier."

"Right I remember. Section five dash three; you're Machias and you." Lucy replied with a nod of her head. "But is there anything else I should know that wasn't covered in the explanation? Such as why you were in an isolation chamber inside a massive underground ruin.

"Apologies Master, as I have only recently rebooted my system I am unable to access all of my files. It is also possible that my previous owner placed a protection on my systems in order to prevent a leak of information."

"Mmm…I see. Well then I look forward to working with you Artemis."

"Thank you Master, I shall not disappoint you."

For the next few days the two traveled in relative peace, the only thing out of the ordinary happening was when one of Lucy's elementals would open their gate in order to speak to Lucy and her new servant. But when they were only a few miles away from Magnolia the train ground to a halt, the various passengers each one looking around with trepidation on their faces.

"Is something happening?" Lucy questioned as she sat up in her chair, glancing around in an attempt to find the source of the disturbance.

"Observation; it appears that local authorities have stopped this train in an attempt to protect civilians aboard said transportation device." Artemis declared as she jumped to her feet, a strange pistol-like device appearing in her hand as she did so.

"Do you know why?"

"Confirmed; scanning surroundings..." Artemis said with a nod of her head, her eyes flashing green for a brief moment as she slowly scanned the horizon. "…observation confirmed, large magical disturbance detected in nearby vicinity."

"Magical disturbance? What exactly does that mean?"

"Explanation; a massive amount of magical energy has been drained from the land ten miles down the railway, this loss of ethernano has destroyed all objects in effected area have vanished entirely, leaving nothing but salt in its wake."

"I see, that's unfortu-…wait." Lucy started to agree before a sudden realization hit her like a tidal wave of panic. "H-how far away was it?"

"Ten miles."

 _Th-that's Magnolia!_ Lucy thought in a panic as she leapt from her seat and ran for the nearest door. "Artemis! We need to get to the sight of the magical disturbance, now!"

"Confirmed, battle status shift activated." Artemis returned in the same neutral tone as normal before following after her master. The moment the two were outside Lucy turned back to her black haired companion, a look of absolute panic and fear on her face.

"Do you have any means of transporting us the remaining distance? We need to hurry."

"Understood, please hold on Master." Artemis answered as she wrapped her hands around Lucy's waist. "Flight mode: engage." And after finishing Lucy could see panels pull away from her back to reveal more metallic fins along with what appeared to be massive cannons. She was about to ask what exactly they were when both the massive cylinders began to release torrents of flames with such force that the two were lifted off into the sky with enough force that Lucy was unable to voice her question. But at least she now knew that her newest servant had the ability to fly.

As the two rocketed over the landscape Lucy couldn't help but shut her eyes as she attempted to regain control over her emotions.  _Please…please let everyone be ok!_  She thought to herself as the wind continued to buffet her.

And then, suddenly, it was over. Their acceleration ceased just as suddenly as it began, and while they were still not on the ground Lucy could still hear the flames escaping from the back of the Machias.

"Master, we have arrived." Artemis declared in the same tone she always used.

Slowly Lucy opened her eyes, praying over and over again that what she feared hadn't come to pass, but as her eyesight returned her breath caught in her throat as a hand covered her mouth.

Before her was the land that had once held Magnolia, now only home to a landscape of barren white nothingness.


	20. Chapter 20

"Ar- Artemis…please tell me that you can detect some survivors in the area. Some way for us to track down the people who might have taken Fairy Tail." Lucy breathlessly asked, trying her hardest to ignore the maelstrom of emotions that Dragon Lucy was failing to suppress.

"…Unable to detect any organic signatures within the vicinity and This Unit lacks sufficient data to determine origin point of magical disturbance…I apologize Master, I lack the information necessary to answer your expectations." Artemis apologized before bowing behind Lucy's back, the blonde archer completely unaware of the apology as she fell powerlessly to her knees.

She was vaguely aware that Artemis was continuing to speak behind her but she couldn't hear her over the sound of her heart beating painfully. Her vision began to shake as she gazed out at the world of white that stretched out before her, her breathing quickly becoming panicked gasps while her body was covered in sweat.

Images of her team, her guild, her…family sped through her mind as she wrapped her arms around her body, trying to protect herself from a foe she couldn't see or understand. If everything she loved, everything that validated her existence could vanish in an instant without even being able to defend themselves then what was the point of having power? What was the point of her existence now? She had in essence failed her mother, as she wasn't capable of following after the dragons, and had once again failed to protect the people that were important to her.

 _…No, I won't accept this._ Lucy eventually thought, her thoughts darker than they ever had been before.  _If this world wants to take from me, then I will take from the world. I_ _ **refuse**_ _to let this world continue to cruelly steal all I care about..._ _ **I will rule over this twisted reality**_ _. **I wil-.**_

But before Lucy could think anymore her surroundings warped and twisted transforming into the Fairy Tail guild hall. Lucy's thoughts froze and her mouth opened in shock as she jumped to her feet and whipped her head around wildly. Everywhere she looked she could see the smiling faces of her comrades.

"Everyone! What happened?!" Lucy shouted in shock as she looked towards Natsu, the fire dragon slayer still grinning at her like normal but not answering.

"Warning; illusion magic detected. Life form on approach, moving to defend Master." Artemis said as she drew a lacrima pistol from a compartment on her leg and moved to stand between her Master and the hooded figure that was slowly approaching, the Machias not having detected the man before right then. But the man didn't even glance at Artemis, instead focusing on the blonde girl who was staring off into the distance with a shocked look on her face.

"I apologize Lucy, I did not want have to resort to such methods but I couldn't let you fall into a panic." The man apologized before striking his staff into the ground, the illusion of the guild hall and the members of Fairy Tail vanishing to once again reveal the world of white earth and gently rising bubbles.

Lucy blinked slowly as she tried to keep up with the situation, but eventually she just turned to stare at the man, recognizing him after a few seconds. "Jellal…no, the magical signature is different. You're…Mystogan?"

The blue haired man nodded before smiling sadly. "Indeed I am, I wish we could speak under better circumstances but the situation is dire."

Lucy continued to blink slowly before tensing slightly, her thoughts going back to her missing friends. "Th-that's right! Mystogan, do you know what happened here? Where did everyone go?"

"…To Edolas." The blue haired mage answered grimly as he stared up into the sky, Lucy following his gaze to see a massive swirling cloud hovering just over the center of what used to be Magnolia. "They were taken to another world, the world beyond the Anima."

"Anima?" Lucy parroted, trying to ignore the pain in her chest that accompanied the knowledge that everyone she cared about was in another world.

Mystogan opened his mouth to answer, but before he could Artemis once again moved in between them, her Lacrima pistol pointed directly at his forehead.

"Master, I request clarification. Is this man a threat or comrade?"

"Comrade, all members of Fairy Tail are our friends no matter the circumstances." Lucy answered instantly, Artemis nodding and returning her weapon to her holster as Mystogan studied her curiously.

"Lucy, I apologize if this is something you are trying to keep a secret, but who is this?"

"Ah, right. This is Artemis, a Machias I discovered in some ruins to the east." Lucy introduced the black haired machine, the woman in question bowing as Mystogan looked confused for a second before shaking his head and once again turning back to Lucy. Mystogan went on to explain that the other world, Edolas, was seeking to steal magic from other worlds in order to replenish their falling stores.

Mystogan's eyes once again turned to the sky as he scowled in anger. "Damn, the Animus is beginning to close…there's no more time. We need to get you over there to help our friends. Simply trust in your magic and I'm certain you'll be able to save them." He announced as he pulled a pill bottle from his jacket. "Here eat one of these."

"Warning; Master, I cannot determine the contents of that pill. I would advise you not to-." Artemis started to say but stopped when Lucy plopped the pill into her mouth, swallowing it instantly. "Master…you place too much trust in others."

"I disagree Artemis. I will always trust Fairy Tail. And since Mystogan says we need to go there to save everyone then that's what we will do." Lucy answered instantly, Mystogan blinking in surprise before smiling.

"I see…you are ready now…Artemis, please fly Lucy directly at the hole in the sky with as much speed as you can muster. You will have to break through the barrier in between worlds in order to make it...and good luck you two."

"…Understood. Well then Master, please hold on tight." Artemis replied as she wrapped her arms around her master, warily looked at Mystogan, and took off into the air. Mystogan watching as the two rocketed upwards leaving a plume of smoke in their wake. In truth, he felt awful about having to use such a cruel illusion on the nearly hyperventilating mage, but his hand was forced. When he had happened on the two women he had seen something far beyond his capacity to understand despite the fact that he was a world hopping prince. Lucy's magic had always been strange to him, the seal on her body and the unique nature of her magic always forcing him to take note of her on those rare occasions when he was in the guild hall. But the magic he had felt only moments ago was something…different, something wrong.

The world around the young blonde actually seemed to be warping as her magic swelled in response to her emotions. Sure, it was well documented that when mages went into extreme emotional distress their magical levels could swell in response, but what Lucy had done was something entirely different. Reality itself was bending to her emotions, and for a brief second Mystogan could have sworn that he could see a faint outline behind her kneeling form, an outline that looked like a human outline filled with stars.

But Mystogan had no more time to think about the strangeness of her situation, there was still too much to do in order to save their guild. "…You may hate me for what you will be forced to do over there, Lucy of Fairy Tail, but it is necessary to save our guildmates and I will be more than willing to bare your fury when all is said and done. But for now I must continue to work on finding others and closing the Anima. I wish you the best of luck."

* * *

The first thing that Lucy noticed when the insanely bright light dimmed was how loud the air rushing past her was. She heard Artemis report something about her magical reserves falling to critical levels and that she was switching over to leeching off of Masters magic or something along those lines but Lucy's attention was on the strange world before her. Sure, it was interesting to see floating islands and rivers along with strange flying creatures but that wasn't why she was carefully watching everything that flew by.

Everything was so much clearer than normal, almost like her eyesight had somehow improved tenfold. And it wasn't just her eyesight that had grown stronger. She could feel her muscles tensing with newfound strength, her bones harder than they had been in years, her magical reserves more chaotic and potent than normal. It was almost as if… _no, it couldn't be!_

As Artemis activated her boosters again and righted their course Lucy gingerly reached up to her mouth, praying that what she wrong. But as always reality conspired against her, as her fingers made contact with a sharpened canine.

 _D-dragon slayer traits! But that means..._ "Artemis! Land at once!" She ordered in a no nonsense tone, Artemis not even bothering to respond in words, instead angling directly downward at one of the many floating islands. The moment their feet touched the ground Lucy all but ripped her dress away from her body, looking down at her chest in panic. But her surprise continued to build as she spotted the magical seal directly over her heart.

"Th-this can't be…the seals still intact. But then why…I have to summon Ifrit." She eventually decided as she held up her right arm. "Oh mighty lord of flame, oh indomitable spirit of chaos, I beseech thee; manifest thy power for this unworthy priestess…come forth Ifrit." She chanted out, knowing full well that summoning an elemental Lord would drain her of nearly all her magical energy and would likely awaken her trauma but willing to risk it in that moment.

However there was no change in her surroundings, no pillars of fire shooting from the ground, no hovering demonic visage, and no immense drain on her magical energy. Her panic continuing to grow, Lucy glanced down at her bracer to see that all of her elemental lacrima were dull, the magic that normally coursed through them having vanished entirely.

"This is growing more and more confusing…Artemis, do you have any idea?" she asked as she turned around to see her companion standing at attention.

"I lack sufficient information to make anything more than an educated guess but it appears that the levels of ethernano in the air are insufficient for holder type magic. It is also possible due to this being another world that the elemental pathways are unusable here, as this world might possibly have different elementals…but I must ask Master, I am detecting a different magic from within your body. May I enquire as to what exactly has happened?"

"…it's my other magic, my dragon slayer magic." Lucy muttered sadly as she launched into the short version of her past, Artemis nodding along as if on cue.

"I see…then what shall we do now Master?" she asked as Lucy stomped paste her, feeling angry for reasons she couldn't understand.

"Isn't it obvious? Mystogan told us that Fairy Tail should be somewhere around the Royal Capital. So we go there and free everyone, no matter who gets in our way."

* * *

Natsu couldn't help but open his mouth in shock as he stared at everyone in the Fairy Tail guild hall from underneath one of the tables, everyone was acting so…weird. Gray wearing so many layers of clothes and being in love with Juvia, Elfman crying while being picked on by Jet and Droy, and…was that Nab running about yelling about taking on another job?

"Wh-What the hell's going on here?!" Natsu stuttered in surprise, Happy beside him staring at everyone with just as wide eyes.

"It's like they've all gone crazy!"

It hadn't even been a day since they had all arrived in the crazy homeland of Happy and Carla in search of their friends and since everyone they had encountered so far just ran away screaming something about Exceeds or whatnot they hadn't been able to find any information. And now, when they finally found Fairy Tail, everyone was acting crazy. And that was just too much for Natsu to keep up with.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me! How long have these bastards been hiding here huh? I can't concentrate on my work if there's intruders!" A foul mouthed Levy shouted out as she strolled by the table and noticed them there, the eyes of their strangely behaving guildmates all turning to glare at them.

"Uwha…Ms. Levy is scary." Wendy murmured in fear from behind Natsu as Levy narrowed her eyes and leaned in to get a better look at Natsu, clicking her tongue after a moment and standing back up.

"Ah hell, it's just Natsu. What the hell are you doing hiding under one of the tables dumbass?" She announced before going over to a counsel covered in strange levers.

"Natsu? Well, at the very least its good your alright…right, my adorable Juvia?" Gray gushed before turning to Juvia, the blue haired woman promptly dismissing his affections.

"Oh my Natsu, you most certainly had us worried. But it warms my heart to see you here again." A prim and proper Cana greeted from a table nearby while Mira smiled and waved from behind the bar, the barmaid being the only person who seemed remotely normal.

"This makes no sense…what in the world is going on here?" Happy cried out as he shook in nervousness. "Did coming to Edolas do this to them?" the blue cat asked Carla, the white feline merely crossing her arms and scowling as she tried to make sense of the situation.

"By the way…" the Glasses wearing Macao called out, drawing the fours attention. "What's with the little girl and the cats"

"ya, are you a babysitter now or something?" Wakaba added before both seemed to realize something, the two turning to each other and repeating the word cat before they, and the entire guild, jumped back in panic. Some members murmuring about the things called Exceeds while others looked ready to fight.

"Wh-what's the big deal?" Happy asked in confusion before taking off his helmet and sighing, Mira taking the opportunity to walk up and kneel down in front of him.

"Wow, you guys really do look like Exceeds. But if you really were then we wouldn't be here now so I'm sure it's just a coincidence." She said with a smile, some of the other guild members relaxing slightly at her explanation while Carla chastised the blue cat for taking off his disguise.

The various members began to go about their business, the chaos in the guild hall somewhat reminiscent of the Fairy Tail back home but still strangely different. While Natsu, Wendy and the two cats watched from a table in the corner.

"…Huh? I just noticed, but I don't see Ms. Erza or Ms. Lucy anywhere. I wonder if they're out on a job." Wendy finally spoke up, noticing a distinct lack of blonde or scarlet hair in the room.

"Oh man, that's not something I want to think about. Who knows how crazy those two are here." Natsu murmured from underneath the table, still not all that comfortable with the situation.

"Oh, I wonder what they're like here." Happy questioned from Natsu's side, having just escaped from a possible fight with Reedus.

"The opposite obviously. Erza's probably some weakling while Luce's a super crazy lady…oh! Or maybe she's a dragon here. That would be cool!" Natsu answered while Happy simply shook his head.

"No way, they're probably both like my servants or something!"

"I would be happy if Erza would bake me cakes and Lucy would behave like an older sister." Wendy added while Carla simply sighed in disappointment. "But still…I can't help but wonder where they are." And despite not saying anything Natsu couldn't help but agree.

"Oh my! So Natsu finally made it back!" a new voice called out, a voice that both Natsu and Happy thought they would never hear again. A voice that made Natsu's eyes go wide and his mind go blank.

"Oh, welcome back Lisanna. How was the job?" Mira called out as she walked over to the other white haired girl. The siblings continued to talk but the contents of their conversation were lost on Natsu, his mind flashing through all the memories he had of his childhood friend.

"L-Lisanna…" He murmured sadly, drawing the girls gaze for a second before she moved on to scolding Jet and Droy for bullying her older brother.

"WH-what's going on…w-why is Lisanna here?" Happy asked sadly from Natsu's side, the flame dragon slayer being unable to answer immediately as tears began to leak from his eyes. A part of him was insistent that it couldn't be happening that this was all some crazy dream, but another part of him just didn't care.

A friend he had thought lost was standing there, staring at him with a confused expression. It was something that he just couldn't comprehend.

And then it was just too much. "…I found you…LISANNA!" Both he and Happy shouted as they threw themselves at the shocked girl, both being intercepted by a pissed off looking Levy.

"What the hell do you think you're doing dumbass? You almost landed on my equipment!"

"B-but…Lissanna's alive and standing right there!" Natsu cried out as he pointed at the still confused looking girl before being handed off to Gray.

"Just sit. Let's chat for old time's sake. We're pals ya'know?" The bundle of jackets warmly said, Natsu deciding to just go with the flow as tears fell from his eyes.

"How is it possible for Ms. Mirajane's younger sister to be here? I thought she died." Wendy eventually asked, she too confused and feeling completely out of place.

"It simply means that they haven't been turned into their opposite, the woman over there proves it." Carla stated matter of factly before pointing at a woman that both Wendy and Happy realized was a much older version of the sky dragon slayer. "Things aren't "opposite". They're "Different"…these people were never part of our guild, they're people that were born and raised in Edolas. It's not that crazy now that I think about it. This is a sort of parallel world so it makes sense that other versions of Fairy Tail would be here as well."

"You can't be serious!" Wendy cried out in shock, Happy looking at his fellow talking cat with an equally as surprised face.

"You mean that this is a Fairy Tail that's always existed in Edolas?"

"Wait a minute! Then where are the guild members we know?!" Natsu nearly shouted, the tears he had shed over Lisanna all but forgotten.

"I don't know! That's why we're here after all." Carla replied as she grabbed Happy by the paw and started making for the door. "Staying here will be problematic! Let's get going!"

"But where will we go?" Wendy asked, the white cat stopping and turning around with a serious expression.

"…The Royal Capital. I'm sure we'll find clues there about what happened to our guild!" she answered, but before she could make a move for the door Nab ran back in and slammed them shut.

"The Fairy Hunter! The Fairy Hunter is here!" He shouted, every member of the Edolas Fairy Tail going stiff in shock before scurrying around, Levy chief among them.

"Damn it! Why the hell does this thing have to take so long!" Levy shouted as rocks on the ground began to hover, the entire building shaking in response to the magic.

"The air…it's vibrating." Wendy announced just moments before a massive creature appeared outside, its roar shaking the building to its foundations. "But why would the kingdom be coming after Fairy Tail?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The older Wendy asked in a calm voice. "After magic became outlawed guilds were supposed to disband. But we stayed together as the last guild in the world...and became a dark guild."

"Alright! We have criticality! Teleportation magic circle! Activate!" Levy announced as everyone began to float through the air, the air around them shining with a multitude of colors before everything collapsed to the floor in a heap, a massive amount of heat pouring through one of the open windows while smoke poured out of the counsel, the Edo-Levy shouting out a string of curses as she tried to salvage the controls.

"We moved…?" Natsu murmured as he stood back up, the various members following suit. "Who exactly was that?"

"What's wrong Natsu? Has it been so long that you forgot? That was Erza Knightwalker, the captain of one of the royal capital's Magic Warfare Units…also known as the Fairy Hunter." Mira answered with a sad smile as she opened the doors to reveal a desert now outside as opposed to the forest they had come from.

"Wha…Erza's…our enemy?" Natsu murmured quietly in shock. Sure, Erza was always kind of a jerk and violent as all hell, but evil? Natsu just couldn't see it happening. But he didn't have any more time to think about it, instead turning his attention to the various members of the other Fairy Tail. "Hey, I have something I need to ask you guys." He started before launching into a whole explanation of how they got there and who they were, the members of the Edolas Fairy Tail staring at them like they had grown second heads after he finished.

"So let me get this straight. You four are from another world called "EarthLand" and came here looking for a way to save your friends who got kidnapped by the Kingdom?" Droy tried to summarize, sighing heavily when Natsu just nodded in confirmation. "And your Erza's ally over there?"

"More or less." Carla added, Happy nodding as well.

"That's a pretty hard tale to swallow man." Jet commented before really studying Natsu. "…but now that you've said it you really don't act like the Natsu we know. You only look like him."

"So, could you guys tell us how to get to the Royal capital?" Natsu casually asked, the members of the Edolas Fairy Tail flinching in response before the Edo-Wendy stepped forward.

"I hate to say this to a little me, but it's better if you just forget about them." She casually but not unkindly stated. "Anyone who defies the king of Edolas is as good as dead…that's just how powerful they are."

"All the guilds tired to resist his orders at first. But when the Magical Warfare Units showed up they were either killed or imprisoned." Max added, some other members beginning to cry as the memories came back to them. "They even…they even got our Master and many of our friends."

"So take it from us, just go back home and forget about your friends." Edo-Droy called out as he gestured to the door, the other members nodding along with his assessment.

But Natsu was unmoved, choosing instead to simply bow slightly and stare at them with firm determination. "Please. Tell us how to get there. I am gonna help our friends. No matter what." He announced, the various Edolas members staring at him like he insane.

"…Heh, you've got guts. I'll give you that." Edo-Levy chuckled as she walked to the forefront of the crowd, smirking down at them like they were kids planning a prank. "…sure, and I'll do you one better. I'll show you where the place is." She announced, the members of her guild crying out in shock and surprise.

"L-Levy…are you sure? They're certain to fight against the royal army if they go to the capital." Gray added but Levy simply waved him off and scowled.

"Oh, I won't fight. I'll just show them the way and run off the moment it looks even remotely dangerous…plus "She" will be there." She muttered, her tone filled with a fury that even caused Natsu to flinch.

"Her? Who's her?" Happy questioned, completely oblivious to the atmosphere.

"Oh right, you wouldn't know." Levy coldly replied as her hands clenched. "She's the traitor who put the noose around our necks…Lucy Omentarilla."

* * *

Erza Knightwalker walked down the open air hallway of the castle with a annoyed scowl on her face and accompanied by two of her fellow captains, the three heading to the audience all at the behest of the king. She was vaguely aware that Hughes was talking about something being "Super-awesome" or something similar but the crimson haired warrior couldn't care less at that moment. She was still fuming over the fact that once again the last remaining dark guild had escaped her clutches and while no one in the city would dare blame her for it she still couldn't help but think that she was failing to live up to the name of the Fairy Hunter. It was particularly annoying due to the fact that she had even received Intel on where they would appear this time but still failed to apprehend them, a fact that she would have to apologize for later.

But she would never apologize to Byro, the parasite of a man approaching from behind and voicing his disappointment over her failure to eliminate the Fairies, his annoying laugh grating against the Fairy Hunter's nerves. "Fairy Tail is now the only guild that remains in his Majesties lands. And while it may be true that they are the speediest when it comes to fleeing his Majesty has grown weary and demands results.

Erza kept her mouth shut as Sugar-boy stepped forward to defend her. "Don't be in such a hurry. The day the goddess fells the fairies is close at hand after all."

"Yeah! Erza's awesome with a sword after all! Way awesome! I'm sure she'll get them next time!" Hughes added, only causing Byro to laugh some more, or he was up until two more figures approached.

"Cease that unnerving laugh, Byro. I cannot stand such an annoying noise." Panther Lily announced as he walked up and glared at the tiny man, the woman at his side giggling lightly into her hand.

"Now, now Panther Lily, there's no reason to make fun of the laugh someone was born with…even if it is only slightly better than nails on a chalkboard." The woman added as the circlets on the golden staff in her right hand shook slightly, a ringing sound echoing through the surrounding hallway for a brief moment and calming the somewhat tense atmosphere. The woman was dressed in a flowing robe that would make onlookers think she was priestess of some sort, a misconception that was only further enforced by her patient and almost motherly smile.

"Panther Lily, Lucy I see you were called as well." Erza commented as Lucy giggled and threw herself at the red haired woman, her face covered in a wide smile as she wrapped her arms around Erza's waist.

"It's good to see you again Erza. It's been far too long." The younger blonde greeted with a laugh, Erza smiling slightly in response and returning the hug. While she wouldn't normally be caught dead smiling at a coworker or subordinate but as with many things in the kingdom Lucy Omentarilla proved to be an exception. When the blonde girl had first been introduced as the new head of Magical Research and Weaponry Erza had been furious. Not only was she someone who came from far outside the kingdom but she was someone from Fairy Tail, the dark guild that she had been charged with destroying. But it wasn't a month later that the forever happy blonde managed to prove herself in both Erza's eyes and in the eyes of the Magical Warfare Units. She provided crucial insider information on the location of various black markets and through her expertise in magical artifacts she was able to aim and control the Anima to a degree that no other mage had ever done.

It wasn't an understatement to say that it was because of her hands that the giant lacrima that was the Earthland city was floating over their city.

"Indeed it has…and speaking of my time in the field I must apologize. I wasted the valuable intelligence that you managed to gather for me and allowed Fairy Tail to escape once again." Erza apologized, Lucy simply continuing to giggle.

"Oh, don't worry about it. Even if you weren't able to finish them off you still managed to force them to relocate. No matter how skilled their lacrima mechanic is they can't keep that up for long. Sooner or later they will be trapped and at the mercy of your spear." She concluded with a smile on her face despite the fact that she was talking about her former comrades.

"I see…then I shall look forward to that day." Knightwalker answered as she stepped back from the young blonde, the girl pouting slightly at the loss of contact. "But I am surprised; I did not think that the King would call upon you so soon after using the Anima. Are you certain you should be stepping away from your department with the date of extraction fast approaching? And besides, will your body be alright?" it was hardly a secret that Omentarilla's body was weak, and that controlling magic on the scale of the Anima caused her more than a little amount of stress.

"I should be fine so long as the King does not ask me to go outside the limits of the city. And I do have my Staff of Luminescent Ends after all. And I'm sure Panther Lily will protect me…right?" She replied as she gestured to her staff slightly and stared up at the large cat man, Panther Lily sighing slightly in response.

"So long as you do not cause too much trouble or attempt to toy with the soldiers I do not mind lending you my sword." The massive Exceed answered calmly, Lucy smiling warmly at him before hugging his arm and laughing as he tried to shake her off.

"Enough of these games, the king has called for us and as his royal retainers we must live up to his expectations." Panther Lily chastised the younger blonde as she pulled away and bowed.

"Of course Panther Lily. I apologize; I let my emotions get a hold of me. It won't happen again." She said with the level of dignity that one would expect from the head of Magical Research and Weaponry, Panther Lily nodding in satisfaction before turning and leading the captains to the throne room, where the elderly king and the assistant chief of staff, Coco.

"Ah, my loyal Captains. You have done well over these last few weeks…now then deliver your reports, for the good of our Kingdom." Faust muttered with the same serious, almost haunted expression on his face.

Each captain kneeled and bowed their heads before giving their respective reports. But when each one was done Faust turned to the blonde researcher, his expression even more grave than normal.

"Omentarilla…tell me, have you discovered the truth hidden behind the door? Have you found the means to everlasting magic?" The king asked with barely contained emotions, although none of those present could determine exactly what kind of emotion it was.

But the blonde didn't seem bothered by the king's attitude, and instead simply stood and stared back with a solemn expression. "…it is difficult to say. It is true that the latest Anima firing was a success, a resounding one if I may say so, but the difference between opening a path to another world and a path to the gate is the same difference between a pebble and a mountain." She announced calmly but continued undisturbed. "But worry not, my king, as I will not fail this world. I will bring about the paradise that you desire even if it means the deaths of those from Earthland."

"Excellently said Omentarilla, do not hesitate to do whatever is necessary for the sake of our Edolas."

"Sir!" She shouted back as she bowed her head once again. But with her head bowed she wasn't able to see the glare that Byro was sending her way, the man's annoying laugh replaced by the sound of his teeth grinding against each other.

* * *

If there was one thing that Lucy had learned about this other world it was that it was incredibly arid, and if there was one thing that was more of a bother to her newly rediscovered draconic senses it was that she hated the heat…in fact, she hated nearly everything about this new world.

_Hold on a minute…hate? I shouldn't be able to feel hate with Dragon Lucy suppressing my emotions…is this a side effect of my power leaking out...and if that's the case, then what other side effects am I going to experience?_

"Master, I have detected that your emotional state has fallen below recommended levels. Would you like a backrub in order to improve your mood?" Artemis questioned from behind her. Lucy turned around to see her companion staring at her with an exhausted expression. Ever since the Machias had switched over to siphoning off of Lucy's magic she looked particularly haggard, her eyes unfocused and almost empty looking.

"No I'm fine. But are you ok? You look exhausted." Lucy asked in concern, causing Artemis's eyes to go wide for a moment before she fell down on one knee.

"I apologize Master; I did not mean to worry you. I am currently running on low power mode and am therefore unable to maintain proper levels of awareness. However it will not affect my ability to defend you, even if it costs me my life." She announced solemnly.

"…that's enough!" Lucy almost shouted in anger, her own surprise mirroring that of Artemis's. "…I apologize, that slipped out unintentionally. But please do not sacrifice yourself for me, as according to Natsu that isn't what a Fairy Tail wizard should do."

"…Understood, rewriting subroutines in order to comply with Masters Orders…complete." She announced as she stood back up.

The two mages had been slowly making their way through the desert wasteland with no real destination in mind. While Mystogan had informed them that their guildmates had been transformed into a Lacrima of unusual size they had no way to track down such an object. Lucy's dragon slayer senses may have returned but it had been such a long time since she had used them she couldn't determine one smell from another, only adding to her frustrations, and with Artemis working on low power mode she was unable to use her scanning functions to search the surrounding land. During one discussion Artemis did determine that she could use her boosters for a few seconds if the need arose but would prefer to save energy for defense of Lucy if the need arose.

And thus they could only wander the land looking for some sign of where to go. The sand blowing in Lucy's face only adding to her frustration.

But as they crested yet another sand dune they found something that neither had been expecting, a very strangely shaped town that was comprised of round buildings. Even from far away Lucy could see the shapes of human-like beings walking the streets.

"Master, shall we proceed into town then?"

"Yes…but remember we don't want to alert the authorities here. Our priority is to remain as inconspicuous as possible and gather as much information as possible. Do not attack anyone unless it's absolutely necessary, understand?"

"Orders confirmed." Artemis replied with a nod as they started to make their way down into the town. At first they stuck to the shadows of the alleys, as they very quickly determined that the men wearing helmets and carrying spears were members of the local military. But it wasn't long before Lucy began to grow frustrated with the lack of results. How exactly did Natsu function on a day to day basis since he failed constantly? She had truly gained a new appreciation for what her dragon slayer partner went through on a daily basis.

"Enough of this." She eventually muttered in anger before turning towards the main street. We will have to risk exposing ourselves to the public eye…be ready." And before even receiving an answer Lucy strolled forward into the road and directly at the nearest person, an elderly woman carrying a basket filled with some kind of bread. "Excuse me miss, I was wondering if you could help me with something."

"Yes deary? What can I…" the elderly woman started to answer, but her words died in her throat when she looked at Lucy, her jaw going slack and her eyes going wide the moment she saw her.

"U-umm…" Lucy stuttered, not really sure what had disturbed the woman. But before she could figure out what to say the woman took action first, the sound of flesh striking flesh echoing throughout the street and drawing more attention. At first Lucy wasn't completely sure what had transpired, but after a second both her and Dragon Lucy reacted to the unexpected attack, Dragon Lucy immediately trying to seize control over her body while Lucy moved to suppress both her mental and physical defenders as Artemis had moved to draw her weapon.

"How dare you…after everything you did here. How dare you show your face to us!" The elderly woman shouted, many of the other civilians that had approached mirroring her anger and only adding to Lucy's confusion.

 _I don't recall having done anything to these people before today…should I apologize regardless?_ Lucy thought in confusion as she took a step back, trying hard to keep from letting the anger take control.

"Master, I would advise firing a few warning shots into the crowd in order to disperse these potential foes." Artemis advised from behind her, her tone cold and calculating.

"Don't do anything Artemis. Remember our objective." Lucy whispered back, the crowd only growing angrier with each passing second. But before they could do anything a group of soldiers ran in between her and the furious onlookers, much too both parties shock.

"Men! Defend Ms. Omentarilla with your lives! Civilians! Disperse now or we will resort to deadly force!" One of the men shouted out, the men and woman taking a step back in fear before dispersing completely, more than a few sending glares back at Lucy before they left. And when the danger had finally passed the armored man who had shouted out at first turned and bowed. "I apologize Ma'am, it is our eternal shame that we allowed you to face such danger…but if I may be so bold as to ask, why have you traveled so far away from the capital? Was there something you required out here?"

 _…I don't know what they're talking about but I can use this to my advantage. If they've mistaken me for someone of power then I might as well use that power to get what I need._ Lucy decided as she tied to hold herself with as much dignity as she could before answering. "No its fine and thank you for your aid. Unfortunately I cannot tell you of my purposes, as it is a state secret…however, if you wouldn't mind, I need to know the situation involving the lacrima we just recently harvested from Earthland. Do you have any up to date information on it?" Lucy asked as she discreetly waved Artemis off, the Machias nodding slightly and placing her lacrima pistol back into her holster.

"Ma'am! According to our most recent reports the Anima created Lacrima is currently being held in the Royal Capital and is scheduled to be turned into fuel within the week."

"I see…"  _So I have to get to the capital then…I wonder if I can use these soldiers to escort me there then._ "…I have new orders for you men. I require you to-." Lucy started, but was forced to stop when a massive tornado ripped through the center of the town, drawing everyone's attention.

"It must be those illegal mages from the dark guild Fairy Tail! Ms. Omentarilla, I ask that you remain here while we apprehend the dark mages." The man shouted before rushing off leaving one guard at her side.

 _Dark guild Fairy Tail?! While that doesn't sound like my family I can't exactly ignore that name._ And after making her decision Lucy moved faster than the last remaining guard could follow and struck him in the back of the neck, instantly knocking him unconscious.

"Master?"

"Artemis, we need to investigate the source of that tornado with all due haste." Lucy shouted back as she began to run forward, a startled sound escaping from her lips as Artemis wrapped her arms around her stomach.

"Orders received, flight mode engaging." She announced as the two took off into the sky once again. With the speed of Artemis's boosters it wasn't long until they reached the source of the strange twister, and when they finally arrived Lucy couldn't help but be surprised by what she saw. Down on the ground were the forms of Natsu, Wendy, Carla, Happy, and a strangely dressed Levy being arrested by men of the kingdom. But the strangest thing was that not a single one of them were using magic, something that was particularly strange when it came to Natsu, who wouldn't normally allow any foe to get that close.

But at the end of the day it didn't matter what reason he had for not using magic, what Lucy had to do didn't change. She wouldn't fail to protect her friends yet again, even if that meant using the power she had sworn not use ever again. And with the guards all gathered together she had just the attack to use.

" **…Chaos Dragon's Roar!** " She shouted out before releasing a stream of pure ethernano directly at the gathered soldiers, the impact sending more than a few flying through the air. "Artemis! Our priority is to protect those four down there! Drop me and defend them!"

"Understood! Lacrima weapon d-32 stinger!" she announced, the lacrima pistol in her hand transforming into a rapid fire pistol, the Black haired woman dropping Lucy, taking aim, and opening fire within the span of a few seconds. Lucy as well wasn't idle, already coiling her ethernano around her hands for her next attack. The moment her feet touched the ground she launched forward at the few remaining men. " **Chaos Dragon's Rending Fists!** " She shouted as the magical energy around her hands formed claws of pure ethernano, claws she quickly used to rip through weapons and armor like they were nothing more than pieces of paper.

"L-Luce?! How are you here? And wait a sec, did you just say…!" Natsu shouted out in shock as Lucy turned to inadvertently glare at him, her draconic instincts still in full swing.

"Not now Natsu! We need to fall back for now! Artemis, cover our retreat!" She shouted out to the still hovering machine girl, the woman nodding and once again opening fire as Lucy grabbed Wendy's hand and began to run for the edge of town, the others following after her after hesitating for a brief second.

It didn't take them long before they were far outside of town and since Artemis was able to determine that they had no one pursuing them the six of them decided to take shelter in a nearby forest, Lucy only dimly noting how strange it was that the ecosystem changed so drastically.

"Hah…hah…we should be safe out here right?" Carla questioned as she plopped down on a nearby log, the white cat trying desperately to catch her breath."

"I can't say, they may be just organizing a search party before coming after us but we should be fine for a few minutes at least." Lucy replied before noticing the strange gazes everyone was sending her way. "…Is there something wrong everyone?"

"Luce…you used dragon slaying magic. I thought you had that sealed up or something? And wait a sec! How are you even here? We thought you were trapped in the Lacrima like everyone else?" Natsu shouted as he jumped around her in order to inspect her for wounds.

"No, I wasn't in town during the attack after all. How would I have been affected by the magic after all?" Lucy quickly denied as her eyes narrowed in annoyance, Natsu blinking up at her slowly in shock.

"Holy shit Luce, are you…actually angry?" He muttered in surprise, Happy watching her with an open mouth.

"…Ah, sorry Natsu. I just have been feeling really angry since coming here. I think it might be a side effect from having the seal bypassed."

"Seal?" Wendy and Carla parroted, Lucy leaning forward and pulling her dress away from her skin, the two of them sucking in a startled breath while Levy whistled lowly.

"Damn, that's a serious piece of work…and I guess that means you're not Omentarilla…tch, was hoping to get a shot at her." Levy cursed, Lucy blinking slowly at her friends newfound foul mouth. It was then that Natsu and Wendy launched into a tale of their time in Edolas, their finding of Fairy Tail and the opposite members they had discovered inside.

"Then, if you don't mind me asking, who exactly is Omentarilla? The soldiers in town confused me for her and I was even slapped by a woman who I believe thought I was her."

"She's a damn traitor. She sold out Fairy Tail in order to save her own skin and has been giving the Kingdom information on our whereabouts ever since. If I ever get my hands on the bitch she'll wish she was never born." Edo-Levy cursed with barely contained fury.

But Lucy simply frowned and shook her head in denial. "Ridiculous."

"…Ah? You want to repeat that?" Levy asked in a tone that hinted of upcoming violence before leaning over Lucy, the blonde completely undisturbed by her attempt at intimidation and returning the glare in equal measure.

"It's utterly idiotic to believe that I would betray Fairy Tail. Even if this other me is from another world and didn't have my upbringing I simply can't imagine that being the case." Lucy denied as she stood and leaned forward in challenge, Natsu and Wendy leaping up in order to keep the two from coming to blows.

"H-hang on Ms. Lucy. Scary Levy is here to help us after all so we don't need to antagonize her." Wendy anxiously said as she waved her hands around nervously, Levy clicking her tongue again and turning away as Lucy attempted to get her out of control emotions back to normal levels. "And would you please tell us how you got here, and who the woman with the gun is and why she looks so pale?" Wendy asked as she looked over at Artemis, the black haired woman having used up her magical reserves to such a degree that she was slumped up against a nearby tree and wasn't moving due to extreme low levels of ethernano.

And so Lucy launched into a tale of her travels through Pergrande, her discovery of the ruins, finding and naming Artemis, and returning to the ruins of Magnolia only to be sent here by Mystogan.

"Wait a sec Mystogan! So he survived the giant space vacuum too?" Natsu shouted out in shock as Lucy finished talking about her meeting with the Jellal look alike.

"I can't help but wonder who exactly Mr. Mystogan is if he knew so much about Edolas." Wendy murmured almost sadly.

"He didn't say, he simply told me that I had to come here to help everyone and to trust in my magic.

"Oh ya, why are you the only one who can use magic here Lucy?" Happy asked from Lucy's side, the blonde in question putting a hand to her chin in thought for a moment before sighing in defeat.

"In all honesty I have no idea…and without Natsu's or Wendy's magic or my elementals we're at a major disadvantage. I was honestly praying I wasn't going to have to use my slayer magic while I was here, but it looks like fate is going to force my hand."

"…Hang on a sec, are you guys seriously gonna take on the kingdom?" Edo-Levy asked with a deadly serious face, Natsu staring at her like she was crazy.

"Obviously."

"Aye! It's for our friends!"

"Going up against the kingdom without magic is suicide." Levy coldly stated, Lucy raising a hand in confusion as she did so.

"I can use magic still." She added before realizing that she had forgotten about Artemis, the machine woman still propped up against a nearby tree. "Oh right, are you Ok Artemis? You seem to have lost more magic than normal."

"…statement; I have determined that this form consumes too much magic in this world and am attempting to remain conscious."

"I see…then is there any way you can alter your form to one that consumes less magic?" Lucy asked before realizing something else that needed to be set in order. "Actually Artemis, I have new orders for you so long as the others cannot use your magic. You have to protect them over me, prioritizing Carla and Happy first and foremost." Lucy ordered, the two cats staring up at her in surprise.

"…Orders confirmed. Determining the best course of action in order to protect priority targets…low power mode authorized…synchronizing low power mode and adopting camouflage outer form." Artemis uttered before turning her head to stare at Carla. In the next moment a green light began to shine from her eyes, a grid of lines mapping out Carla's body as the Machias scanned the cat. In the next moment a thick smoke began to pour out from the seams of her body, covering her form as a mechanical grinding noise echoed in the surroundings.

And when the smoke cleared a gray female cat wearing an equally as gray dress was standing in the place where the machine woman once was, its red eyes staring up at everyone with a faint smile on its face. "Is this form to your liking Master?"

"…Mmm, I suppose it will do." Lucy responded with a nod.

"Hang on Luce, your just gonna ignore the fact that a full grown lady just turned into a cat? I know you aren't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed but that's a little…" Natsu started but quickly stopped when Lucy stared at him with a look that spelled doom for anyone how stood against her, although Lucy for her part was simply contemplating how they could use Artemis's apparent transformation abilities to their advantage.

It wasn't long after their meeting that Edo-Levy brought their group to the next town over and rented a room for them to share for the night. Lucy for her part was incredibly grateful, as she had not been looking forward to sleeping in a desert near a town that was swarming with potentially dangerous men.

"Alright then, I borrowed this map of Edolas from the hotel so we can plan out our route." Wendy announced as she drew a line from where the others met up with the Edolas Fairy Tail all the way to the Royal capital, a route that would involve traveling across a massive bridge.

"Still have a long way to go huh…" Natsu muttered angrily as Wendy sighed.

"Plus we have to be extra careful so as to not alert the royal army. Who knows how long it'll take us to get there…"

"Well we'll just do what we have to do. It doesn't make a difference how many stand in our way." Lucy grimly added, Wendy looking at her nervously as she did so.

"M-Ms. Lucy has become a little scary since getting to use her dragon slayer magic." She stuttered out, Carla scoffing before crossing her arms.

"She's been influenced too much by the fire fool."

"Oi what the heck does that mean?" Natsu shouted indignantly as Levy watched them interact with a strange expression on her face.

"You guys are awfully relaxed for people planning out a military campaign." She commented with a snort, Lucy and the others turning and staring at her strangely.

"Why wouldn't we? Just cuse we got a big job to do doesn't mean we don't get to enjoy ourselves. Isn't that what you guys do back in Fairy Tail?" Natsu asked, Levy smiling sadly as she turned to stare out at the night sky.

"Enjoy ourselves huh…kinda, but for us it's more of a way to try and hold back the anxiety we feel each and every day and the struggle to survive each day…mostly because of someone who just had to betray us." She sadly stated before sending a glare at Lucy, the blonde mage simply tilting her head in confusion in response. "Plus there's still a bunch of hopeless fools in this world that need guilds. So even if it means turning "dark" our guild will keep going."

"…While I don't really get it, I'm also just too tired to care right now. So if it's all right with everyone else, Artemis and I will turn in for the night." Lucy announced, carrying the gray cat in the same manner that Wendy often used to carry around Carla.

"Ya, you were using a bunch of magic earlier so makes sense that you would be tired out. Have a nice night Luce." Natsu replied with a grin, Wendy smiling as well and announcing she too would like to retire. Natsu waited until everyone, including Edo-Levy, went to bed before walking out on the hotel room's balcony and scowling up at the moon. He had hidden it from the others, but he was honestly more than a little concerned about his blonde partner. Sure, it was super awesome to see Luce using dragon slaying magic and stuff, but seeing her get so angry over nothing was just…wrong. Lucy wasn't supposed to be angry all the time; she was supposed to be weird. Growling slightly in annoyance, Natsu turned back into the room and made use of his impressive ninja skills to approach his sleeping partner, the blonde girl having taken one of the walls as her bed with her strange little metal cat woman on her lap. Even in her sleep she still looked annoyed, like a needle was constantly poking her in the side and she was twisting in her sleep like she had an upset stomach.

Natsu sighed lightly as he fixed some of the hair that had fallen in the blondes face, Lucy calming slightly in her sleep at his touch. The dragon slayer just didn't know what to do, part of him enjoyed seeing her use her dragon slayer powers but at the same time he couldn't help but feel frustrated that he couldn't fight with her. How the hell was she able to use her magic and he wasn't?

"Heh, it's really creepy to see a different Natsu and Lucy acting all lovey dovey like this." The weird Levy commented quietly as she walked up behind Natsu, the pink haired dragon slayer jumping back up with a pink face for other reasons than the fact that she had snuck up on him, but other reasons he couldn't exactly pin down.

"Huh? What are you talking about? Is this really called Lovey dovey stuff? I do this for anyone in Fairy Tail." Natsu whispered back in confusion, Edo-Levy staring at him like he was an idiot.

"Seriously? I guess that's one thing our Natsu has over you then…but enough about relationships, were you serious when you said that you guys would fight against the Kingdom? Even with only one of you fools being able to fight with magic?"

"Didn't I say it earlier? Of course we will. That's what Fairy Tail does after all…and now that I think about it, why do I need to explain this to you?"

"Huh? You pickin a fight?" The blue haired girl challenged with a furious expression, Natsu raising his hands in surrender before she could throw a punch.

"No, but aren't you guys Fairy Tail too? Shouldn't you know that we don't leave someone behind?" Natsu questioned incredulously Edo-Levy's eyes going wide for a brief second before she smiled sadly.

"What Fairy Tail does huh…I guess you've got a point. Must have just slipped my mind after everything our Lucy did to us." She quietly laughed as she walked out onto the balcony, Natsu following after her a few seconds later.

"…so what exactly did your Lucy do then?" He eventually asked. He had kept his opinion to himself earlier, but he couldn't see Luce ever betraying Fairy Tail in any world she was in. but he almost instantly regretted asking the question, as Edo-Levy's mood instantly turned from thoughtful to furious.

"…Only a few days after our Master died she vanished, disappearing without a trace. At first we panicked under the assumption that she had been captured by the Kingdom and would be executed. But then the local black markets for magical items started to get raided with insane accuracy and the kingdoms troops started to show up everywhere we went. And then we heard the news, that a former dark mage had been placed at the head of Magical Research and Weaponry, a young woman with blonde hair and brown eyes. A woman that had once been a dark mage who never hesitated to help people out here in the boonies…Lucy Omentarilla." Levy finished, Natsu staring at her with wide eyes.

"No way…I refuse to believe any Lucy would go that far."

"Then don't, I don't give a shit what you believe in. plus you guys will find the truth soon enough if you actually make it to the capital." Levy replied with a shrug before turning back to the room. "But if you do find her make sure you don't hesitate to beat her down...because if there's one aspect I would be willing to bet all Lucy's have it's that they won't hesitate to destroy everything in their way." And with that Edo-Levy went back into the hotel, leaving Natsu staring up into the night sky with a miserable look on his face.

* * *

"…I can't believe she just left us here…I'm honesty disappointed in Levy." Lucy declared with a pout the next morning, their group having discovered a note left behind by the blue haired girl explaining that they could reach the capital in three days if they continued to head east like they were.

"Now, now…she did say that she didn't intend to fight against the kingdom anyway." Wendy said in an attempt to calm down Lucy, Natsu simply shrugging before throwing his arms over his head.

"Eh, it's not that big of a deal is it? It's not like we don't know where to go anyway."

"…I still find it infuriating for some reason. It makes me want to hurt some of the soldiers around here." Lucy continued to pout, Natsu grinning wildly at her suggestion.

"Oh yeah! Let's do that!" He agreed instantly, both Wendy and Carla jumping in to tell the two slayers to stop.

"Oh, I just remembered! Ms. Lucy, would you mind telling me about your mother?" Wendy asked out of the blue, Lucy's anger and desire for violence instantly forgotten in light of a request she hadn't been expecting.

"…I suppose I can. But why do you want to know about Tiamat?" Lucy questioned with a tilt of her head, Wendy laughing nervously as she rubbed her palms together.

"W-well…I've always wanted to talk to another female dragon slayer about Grandeeney and trade stories with them…and when I heard that you were a dragon slayer I thought that maybe…" Wendy started to explain before waving her hands in front of her. "A-ah! But if you don't want to talk about her I understand."

But Lucy was already smiling and placed a hand on Wendy's head in the same way that her mother had taught her to do back during her days at the institute. "No, it's no problem, I would love to…although most of the stories I have are of her beating me during training. Would you still like to hear them?"

"Yes!" Wendy answered immediately, Carla smiling and for once not chastising them about being too loud for outlaws.

But before the conversation could get too far a massive shadow passed over head and interrupted them, all six turning their heads towards the sky to find a massive airship moving over the town.

"We should hide!" Wendy shouted before pushing the two older mages behind a nearby wall, the three cats following after them. As the airship moved in to land the six mages overheard some of the guards talking about how they had been called back to the capital in order to protect the lacrima, and how the airship was there to pick them up for that purpose.

"…alright, we should steal it." Natsu decided, much to the shock of Wendy and Carla.

"St-steal it? That massive ship?"

"There's no reason to go that far! We could simply sneak on board!"

"Aw man, I really hate hiding…what do you think Luce?" Natsu first complained before turning to the blonde mage, Lucy's brown eyes angrily watching the guards begging to load goods on board.

"I agree with Natsu, it would be faster to simply steal the airship in it's entirely. Plus if we crash it into their command structure it would be sure to cause some confusion.

"Wow, I would have never thought that you two would suggest stealing a vehicle." Happy commented in awe, Natsu turning to the blue cat with a confident grin.

"With Wendy's Troia spell, Vehicles are no problem-."

"You already forgot that we can't use magic didn't you." Wendy commented with an exhausted tone, both Natsu and Lucy freezing up at the separate realizations that struck them.

"That's right, and with my dragon slayer traits resurfacing my motion sickness…" Lucy stuttered before turning pale.

"…We would like to withdraw our proposal." Both slayers eventually decided. Carla, Happy, and Wendy sighing while Artemis simply continued to study the soldiers.

"Master, even if you do not plan to take this mode of transportation, it would still be prudent to attack them. If we can create chaos in the enemy's ranks it may serve to delay the lacrima ceremony." The grey cat offered, Lucy narrowing her eyes for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"Right then, you guys stay back here while I go out there." Lucy nodded as she stood up, Natsu and Wendy clapping in appreciation as she did so.

"Good luck Ms. Lucy."

"Yea! Give'em a taste of Fairy Tail!" Wendy and Natsu shouted as Lucy leapt up over the wall and charged forward, the control over her limbs already turned over to Dragon Lucy.

The soldiers closest to the Fairy Tail mage's hiding spot didn't even have time to react, as Lucy was already slamming ethernano infused fists into their helmets before they could even turn. But her good luck quickly evaporated as nearly every man in the area charged her with spears at the ready. At first Lucy doing fairly well all things considered, especially since she had to avoid using her more destructive attacks as she didn't want to cause unnecessary damage to the surrounding town, but as the battle went on she was beginning to grow more and more desperate. It was in a battle such as this that her weakness as a trained magical assassin was on full display.

Lucy, and by extension Dragon Lucy, had never been prepared with techniques for battling against large numbers of foes. As an assassin who found herself in such a situation would be as good as dead, and as such Dragon Lucy tended to focus all its attention on its closest foes. Of course she tore through those that did stand before her with ease, but the Kingdoms forces were beginning to wear her out through shear attrition. Natsu and Wendy had even joined the fight, attempting to use the magical items they had purchased earlier, but they were quickly dealt with.

 _…Do I have no choice but to rely on my draconic heart?_ Lucy grimly thought as she noticed Wendy being forced to the ground at spear point. But thankfully she didn't have to worry, as right when it appeared that all hope was lost a dust cloud rapidly approached.

"What the heck is that?" Natsu muttered from his spot on the ground, a few of the surrounding men stepping away from the Fairy Tail mages in unease. But as the dust cloud came within a few feet of the landing strip it suddenly veered to the side, the force of the wind throwing a few soldiers away while revealing a magic-mobile with a Fairy Tail emblem on the side.

"…Levy told me about you guys. Hurry up and get in." A familiar voice called out from the front seat, a head of pink hair just barely visible for a moment before the person turned away. Lucy didn't need any more prompting, as she grabbed the three cats and jumped into the car, followed closely by Natsu and Wendy and their driver didn't even wait for them to get situated before they hit the accelerator, the magic-mobile throwing out a burst of flame as it speed out of town.

"Awesome! We made a clean getaway in the blink of an eye!" Happy shouted in excitement as he sat on top of Natsu, the fire dragon slayer already collapsing due to motion sickness.

"Th-thank you…you…you really helped us out there." Lucy stuttered, her own nausea acting up but the blonde refused to let herself be incapacitated by it as she was the only one who could protect the others until Artemis's magical reserves returned to normal.

"You're goin' to the royal city, right? My ride is way faster than any old shabby ship. After all, I am the fastest man in Fairy Tail if not all of Edolas." The man bragged as he removed his goggles to reveal a face that was just as familiar as his voice. "Natsu Fireball, pleasure to meet you."

"N-Natsu? They're Natsu rides in a car?!" Wendy and Happy shouted out in shock, Natsu merely making a few gurgling noises in response.

"I see, I suppose it would make sense that this world's Natsu would be the opposite of ours from the stories of the others." Lucy murmured in thought as Fireball studied her with a complex expression.

"…You look just like her, but if you were her I doubt she would be able to sit as still as you with me nearby so I guess the likeness is only skin deep." He muttered quietly, so quietly that even Lucy's enhanced hearing almost didn't pick up on it.

"Her? Who is her?" The blonde questioned back but the pink haired driver didn't answer, instead looking back at the still limp Natsu in the back seat.

"So, is that your me? Talk about pathetic? And he dares to call himself me? Heh whatever, just don't blow chunks back there OK me?" Fireball ordered before looking back at Lucy. "Levy asked me to give you guys a ride so settle in; we've got a bumpy road ahead of us."

"Understood, then I'll take you up on that then." Lucy said with a nod before leaning back and closing her eyes, desperate to fall asleep before her nausea overcame her, Artemis following her Master's example and entering her power saver mode.

But Wendy on the other hand was far too excited to think about resting, as she had never traveled this fast in a magic-mobile before and the surroundings that were flying by were far too interesting to pass up. "U-um, Mr. Fireball? Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Sure kid, wha'da ya need?"

"I just wanted to know if you knew anything about all these strange ruins and the big bridge we'll be traveling over." Wendy asked as they continued to drive through ruins of an ancient civilization. Wherever the blue haired slayer looked she could see old stone structures that were completely unlike anything they had seen previously in Edolas. They looked almost like they were built out of a single piece of stone and were impressively tall, standing at least the height of the Fairy Tail guild hall if not a little taller. There were also signs that there had been a number of massive statues in the area, the few that remained somewhat intact depicting a woman in long flowing robes.

But Edo-Natsu simply shrugged his shoulders as best he could without taking his hands off the steering wheel. "Sorry kid, I'm just a courier mage. Never really bothered to learn much about my surroundings beyond where the quickest routes were. Learning the history of the land was…it was her passion." He explained, his voice turning pensive towards the end of his sentence, a change that Wendy, Carla, and Happy were quick to pick up on.

"Are these ruins related to these creatures known as the Exceeds?" Carla asked, curious about these beings that others kept mistaking them for.

"Nah, the Exceeds always make their homes on the floating islands. These ruins are from around the time there were dragons here." Fireball explained, Wendy sucking in a startled breath while Natsu tensed for a moment before going limp again.

"Th-there were dragons in this world?!"

"Sure, if you look back far enough there are stories about them. But they're only talked about in fairy tales at this point. No one's seen one for hundreds of years back during when magic was much more common in our world."

"And no of you thought there might be a connection between the dragons leaving and magic vanishing?" Carla scoffed, Fireball only shrugging his shoulders once again.

"Even if there was, what would it matter? We can't change things that happened before we were even born. All we can do is try to survive and move forward."

The conversation continued well into the day and the beginning of the evening, Lucy joining in to talk about nothing of any real importance. But after awhile Lucy became curious about something she noticed, or more specifically something she didn't notice.

"Does this vehicle not have a SE-plug?" She questioned, Wendy staring at the older slayer in confusion.

"An SE-plug? Isn't that what allows mages to operate magic-mobiles?" Wendy asked, Carla nodding in confirmation.

"I suppose that just goes to show how advanced Edolas is when it comes to Lacrima technology in relation to Earthland. I cannot imagine how difficult it would be to create such a vehicle from scratch." Carla praised, Happy jumping on top of Natsu shouting "Aye!" in agreement.

However it appeared that Edo-Natsu took offense at the statement, as he suddenly slammed on the brakes, the car sliding forward for a second before finally stopping. "…that's not true. Since magic power is limited, so is the fuel for this baby. It's incredibly hard to come by no. so this is as far as I'll take you…so get out."

"I see. Well then, thank you for the ride." Lucy replied as she opened the door and stepped out, followed quickly by a now revived Natsu.

"Woohoo! I'm alive again!" The fire dragon slayer shouted as he danced around, Fireball watching him with an amused smile.

"Looks like the other me catches on fast. I won't stop ya if you wanna take on the kingdom; just don't go draggin us into your war. We've suffered enough as it is. I only helped you out cuse Levy asked me to but I have no interest in fighting…all I want to do is just keep on drivin'."

"hey…you get out too!" Natsu said as he dragged out his double, the pink haired driver panicking all the while. "As the same me, I got something to say to you!" he continued as he placed Fireball down and glared down at him. "You…how are you so ok riding vehicles?" He questioned, the Edo-Natsu covereing his face and crying out.

"I-I'm so sorry…I-I don't know either!" He shouted out in panic, tears escaping from his eyes.

"Natsu, I thought you told me that it wasn't ok to pick on Fairy Tail members other than Gray. Why would you cause your double so much emotional distress?" Lucy questioned her partner as she patted Edo-Natsu on the shoulder, the pink haired driver wrapping his hands around her stomach and crying into her chest.

"O-oh thank you other Lucy! Even from another world your still the only one who gets me!" he cried out before Natsu pried him off his partner, an annoyed expression on his face all the while.

"I'm not bullying me! I just wanted to ask him a question! But seriously dude, whats up? Are you really the same me from before?" He questioned as he poked his opposite.

"Y-yes! People always comment that my personality changes when I'm in a car! P-Please don't shout! It scares me!" He cried out before covering his head. "A-anyway, please don't ask me to go any farther! I only came this far because Ms. Levy asked me to!"

"No, no, you don't need to push yourself. We'll be fine." Wendy comforted, the Edo-Natsu smiling up at her.

"Besides, it doesn't seem like he'd me much help to us anyway." Carla coldly commented, before being scolded by Wendy.

"And how much farther could you take us anyway? Isn't that the capital right down there?" Lucy asked in confusion as she pointed over a nearby hill at an absolutely massive city and castle that stretched out before them, the others finally noticing that they had arrived.

"Oh! You shoulda said we were here sooner me!" Natsu laughed as he slung an arm around his counterpart's shoulder, the boy quickly apologizing and covering his head in panic. "This is great! I didn't think we'd get here so quick! Now we can get the others back even faster!"

"Indeed, well then Edolas Natsu, thank you for all you have done for us." Lucy said with a bow before beginning to run down the hill, Wendy and the three cats following shortly after her. Natsu turned to follow but stopped when his doppelganger called out to him.

"Are you really…going to fight the Kingdom?"

"Donno, all we want to do is save our friends, but if these guys won't give 'em back…then we'll just have to fight!"

Edo-Natsu stared at Natsu in shock for a second before staring down at the ground in defeat. "Y-you don't stand a chance against the royal army. They'll just take everything from you, even the ones you love." He muttered sadly, Natsu watching him for a second before grinning wildly.

"Then just take back what they took. If that's what I would do then you'd do it to right? Cya!" Natsu shouted before turning back to his friends and running after them, the six of them headed straight into the heart of the enemies capital city.


	21. Chapter 21

"You know, for a world that seems to lack magical energy, this place is certainly has more than enough to go around." Lucy commented absentmindedly as their group walked down the paved street. Everywhere they looked there was some form of magical device or lacrima on display or active, the people that surrounded them chatting and smiling like they had no troubles at all.

"It's certainly surprising. From everything we've heard it sounded like they were under a dictatorship but it's almost like a festivals going on." Wendy agreed as she stared at all the strange lacrima devices that surrounded them.

"And we go into the city with no trouble at all." Natsu commented before apparently noticing something that drew his attention.

"They made this place into an amusement city to gain popularity among the citizens. No one happy will bother to question where the magic is coming from." Carla explained in a tone that was almost like she was spitting the words, Natsu nodding his head from atop a hovering child's toy.

"Not a bad strategy, but it does make our job harder." Lucy murmured as their group began to move past a massive plaza, Wendy turning to stare at the throng of people.

"There's some kind of commotion over there! Do you think it might have something to do with our friends?" The blue haired slayer called out, Natsu pulling up alongside her with a pale face.

"…Are they holding some sort of event then?" Lucy thought out loud as she too stopped, Natsu and Happy both running off in the direction of the crowd.

"We'll go check it out!"

"Aye Sir!"

"You two, we're not here for fun and games you know!" Carla immediately shouted back but was unable to stop them, the four women following after the two excited partners.

 _There are far too many people here for this to be just some kind of harmless fun…what's going on?_ Lucy thought grimly as she moved through the crowd, noticing how ecstatic everyone seemed to be.

"What's going on? What's going on?" Natsu continued to question as he pushed through the crowd before getting to the front and stopping suddenly, Lucy nearly walking into his back as he did so.

"Natsu…?" Lucy questioned as she stared around his shoulder to see what had surprised the slayer, only to stare into one of the biggest lacrimas she had ever seen, a lacrima that was guarded by a multitude of the kingdoms soldiers.

"A-A lacrima…" Wendy murmured in shock.

"…there's no doubt about it. I can feel practically taste the Earthland ethernano coming off of it…that's our friends." Lucy muttered darkly.

"Oh no…all our friends are in there." Happy added, Carla pointing to a corner of the massive crystal as he did so.

"Not only that, there are signs that a chuck has been removed." She explained while the crowd around them continued to cheer, some of the civilians even shedding tears of joy.

Lucy turned her attention back down to her pink haired partner, noticing that Natsu was now staring at the surrounding people with a mixture of shock and disgust. Buut before he could act on it a man stepped forward onto the podium that was in front of the Lacrima, throwing his arms to the sky, the crowd quieting down as he did so.

"…Children of Edolas, our sacred kingdom of Edolas, through the Anima, has secured ten years' worth of magic power!" The man shouted out, the cheers once again returning in force as he made his announcement.

"Produced my butt! They just stole it from us!" Happy shouted in rage, Carla tapping him on the shoulder as he did so.

"Calm yourself, Tomcat." The white cat chastised despite the anger in her own voice.

"Together, let us sing! Let us laugh! Let us partake in this joy!" The man, a man who apparently was the king if the chanting of the crowd was to be believed, continued. "The people of Edolas deserve to share this magic power, for they are the sacred race that will last into the future! No one shall take magic power from our kingdom! And here and now, I pledge that I shall ensure that we obtain an even greater magic power! So great that it will make this lacrima behind me look like nothing more than rubbish." The King declared as he drove the head of his staff into the lacrima, shattering it in a small area and causing flecks of the blue gem to fall through the air, Lucy watching in cold fury as the shards that were more than likely once her family shattered on the pavement.

But apparently she wasn't the only one to notice the shards falling to the ground, as Natsu was beginning to make his way through the crowd and while Lucy wasn't the best at detecting emotions, she could clearly see the fury in her partner's shoulders. And while the blonde dragon slayer had half a mind to simply let him go and teach the king a painful lesson instead she reached out and grabbed his hand, her own iron grip being tested as he tried to move forward.

"Natsu, you can't. Not now at least." Lucy warned in a quiet but cold voice.

"You know I can't do that." The fire dragon slayer responded. "That Lacrima…its."

"I know Natsu, I know! We all feel the same way as you but we can't save them right now. Please…just endure."

"Luce…" Natsu growled out in warning, clearly not willing to move on without taking action.

 _This is bad; with just my personal combat strength we can't risk a confrontation here. I need to find a way to distract Natsu…oh; I could try to use Mira's technique._ Lucy thought, at first grimly before remembering what the white haired barmaid had taught her.

"N-Natsu…" Lucy whispered in the same tone of voice that Mira taught her while also imitating the facial expression that she was told to use. Said dragon slayer noticing the change in Lucy's tone and turning to stare at her in confusion for a second before his expression turned to one of confusion and…something Lucy couldn't identify.

"Luce…are you feeling ok?" Natsu eventually asked as he placed a hand on her forehead. "Your face is super red; did you come down with something?"

"Oh no Lucy! What if it's some super cold that makes you even stranger! We don't want that!" Happy shouted out from their side, Lucy unable to determine if his concern was legitimate or not.

"Statement; you do not need to worry Master. I have a multitude of medical programs to run through if your health begins to deteriorate any further." Artemis added in, even Wendy beginning to look concerned for the older slayer's health.

"U-um…it isn't really…" Lucy started to explain but was cut off as Natsu started to push her through the crowd, Wendy and the cats following shortly after them.

"Damn, I really want to take a crack at that bastard right now but gotta make sure you ain't gonna collapse on me or Erza will have my head. Come on guys, let's find a hotel or somethin'." Natsu growled out as they made their way out of the plaza.

Silently, Lucy was thankful that Natsu had chosen to abandon the thought of combat, although she was still confused as to why he hadn't reacted like Mira had told her he would, but secretly she was thankful he had decided to make his move first. In truth while Lucy had wanted to put the king in his place there was another person present that drew her ire to the point where she was more than willing to attack with everything she had even if that put Natsu, Wendy, and the others at risk.

In the back of the plaza, speaking with the guards with a smile on her face was another her. The other her was dressed in the robes of a priestess and was clearly not being held against her own will, marking her as a collaborator of the kingdom.

The Edolas Fairy Tail was right; the Lucy of their world was a traitor.

 _She better pray that I don't get the opportunity to fight her; I can't accurately predict how my draconic instincts will react to meeting her face to face after seeing this._ Lucy thought grimly as they made their way through the streets, each of them trying hard to figure out a way to save their family.

* * *

After procuring a room in a local hotel, using funds that Carla somehow, the Fairy Tail rescue team couldn't help but wallow in depression, each of them occupying a corner of the room while Natsu glared daggers at the opulent castle that stood in the center of town and Carla sat on the table scribbling something with a look of concentration on her face. Lucy for her part was wracking her brain in an attempt to recall any information that was forced into her mind regarding undoing lacrima transformations but what she could recall only served to worsen her depression.

 _Nothing the institute gave me, one of the leading research facilities in Fiore, mentioned anything about reversing and separating multiple individuals turned into magical crystal. So does that mean…that there's nothing we can do to help our friends?_ Lucy couldn't help but think before shaking her head in denial.  _No, I can't think like that. Even if we lack the information regarding their condition all we have to do is "extract" the information from those who created the spell who did that to them…but that leaves us without a plan of attack._

It was at that moment that Natsu apparently couldn't take anymore of the waiting around, growling under his breath before standing and drawing every gaze except for the white cats. "No, I can't stand for this after all! I'm gonna storm the castle! You with me Luce?" Natsu asked as he started to make his way to the door, only to stop when Carla called out to him.

"Just wait a little longer fool."

"What the hell for?"

"We need to devise an actual plan if we're going to change everyone back." Carla argued back like she was talking to a child, Natsu's scowl only worsening as she continued to berate him.

"They were all turned into that crystal…how do we change them back?" Wendy half cried, voicing the question that had been on everyone's mind.

"Tch…you got any ideas Luce?" Natsu asked, giving up on his assault for the moment and turning all eyes on the blonde slayer.

Unfortunately, Lucy could only shake her head slowly in response. "None as of yet, I wasn't implanted with any information regarding lacrima transformations and I haven't encountered anything like this in my life…" She muttered before trailing off, only casting an even worse mood over the group.

"We'll just have to ask the king himself." Carla eventually stated.

"He'll never tell us! He only wants to use them as fuel." Wendy immediately denied, Natsu slamming his fist against the wall in response.

"Then we'll just beat him up until he does!"

"We intend to interrogate him?" Lucy confirmed before standing with a cold look in her eyes, a look that sent shivers down the spine of the younger dragon slayer by her side. "Then I can most certainly extract the information from him. Interrogation techniques were something I was given in spades back during my childhood."

"Alright!...but then how are we supposed to get to the old bastard?" Natsu eventually questioned, returning the room once again to silence.

"There is a way to get close to the king." Carla eventually declared, holding up the piece of paper she had been working on to reveal a hand drawn map. "Although it was originally an escape route leading out of the castle, there should be a mine outside of the city that connects to the castle basement." Carla explained as she traced the route with her paw.

"Agreement; it is standard practice for such important structures to have at least one escape route. It stands to reason that we may make use of such a tunnel for our infeltarion mission." Artemis agreed as the Machias in disguise jumped up onto the table to study the map, the sound of a camera shutter clicking rapidly echoing from her eyes as she studied the passage.

"Wow Carla! How do you know about all that?!" Wendy happy asked as she too looked over the map, the white cat pointing at the top of her head in response.

"Information is coming to me in fragments ever since we arrived here. Things such as geographic and cultural information have been flowing into my mind little by little." She explained, Happy looking at the ground dejectedly in response.

"Nothings coming to me though…"

"Do not worry, Master Happy, I'm certain that it just means you are an inferior representation of your species, noting more." Artemis called out, Happy's head hanging even lower in response.

"U-um…Artemis? I don't really think that what you said was really any comfort." Wendy commented, the silver cat looking appalled at the information.

"I see…it appears my comfort subroutines need an over hall…I apologize for the inconvenience."

"Would you mind sharing what you find with me, Artemis? Mira has told me that I tend to be too blunt in my comforting as well."

"Of course Master, I would happily share my information."

"Regardless of our group's inability to apologize properly, we now have a route in and a plan of attack." Carla interrupted the two, already beginning to feel a headache coming on when Natsu began shouting in response.

"Alright! Let's go turn everyone back to normal!" He shouted as he once again made for the door.

"Yea!" Wendy and Happy both shouted too, only to be stopped when Carla called out to them.

"Wait."

"Now what?" Natsu returned instantly, beginning to lose his already limited patience with the situation.

"We'll attack at night; we should rest for the moment." The white cat explained, Natsu groaning as he threw his arms up over his head.

"Eh, that sounds like a pain. Why don't we just storm the place now?"

"No, Carla's right Natsu. Night attacks make for much easier to deal with guards and less security overall. It's one of the hallmarks of my training to attack when the enemy is at their weakest." Lucy added as she made her way over to the corner nearest the door. "Wendy, you can take the bed. I will sleep by the door in case the military catches on to us."

"O-oh, there's no need to go that far Lucy." The young blunette quickly put forward before smiling widely. "A-and besides, I would really like to hear about your mom…if that's alright with you."

Lucy blinked slowly in surprise before shrugging in indifference. "If that's what you want then I have no issue with sharing the bed. Artemis, would you mind keeping a lookout then?"

"Of course Master, I will enter passive scanning mode until the operation time is upon us. Have a pleasant rest." Artemis returned as Natsu looked on in annoyance.

"Oh man, I really wanted to knock some heads in now…but I guess Lucy might still be all sickly and stuff so I guess we can take a few hours off. Right Happy?"

"Aye Sir!

"So this boarded off mine shaft is our way in?" Lucy confirmed as they reached their destination on the outskirts of the royal city, the blonde slayer staring into the depths of the earth with a wary eye.

"Yes, I'm sure of it." Carla confirmed.

"Alright! Let's get going." Natsu declared before once again being stopped, much to the fire dragon slayer's chagrin.

"I understand why you're in such a hurry, but calm down. First, we need a light to continue ahead."

"Oh, that's nothin'!" Natsu bragged as he clenched his fist over his head. "Leave it to me!" He shouted, holding his fist up for a few seconds before sighing dejectedly.

"See, you already forgot that you can't use magic you imbecile."

"Damn it! This sucks! You got anything you can do Luce?"

"Not with my slayer magic, no." Lucy refuted before noticing a hut off to the side of the tunnel. "But perhaps there is something in there we could use."

"Alright! Let's get searching then!" Natsu immediately shouted before running off with Happy towards the hut, Lucy, Wendy, Carla, and Artemis following shortly after.

It didn't take their group long to find a set of torches inside, and after using Artemis's flame jets to light them, the group began their trek down into the earth, Lucy taking point as she was the only true combatant there while Artemis covered the rear. The rescue team made their way slowly through the tunnels, following Carla's directions to the letter until they reached an apparent dead end.

"This is it." Carla declared as Artemis stepped forward, a green light illuminating her eyes.

"Affirmation; I am detecting strong magic's reinforcing this particular section of the tunnel. It stands to reason that this is part of said escape tunnel."

"Hmm…so then what now?" Natsu questioned as he stared hungrily at the torch in his hand.

"There's no choice, we have to break through here to continue." Carla answered before staring up at Lucy. "Are you able to break down this wall?"

"…yes, easily." The blonde returned before holding up her hand, her fingers pointed forward like she was imitating a blade. The other's watched as chaotic blue energy crackled to life around her arm before she drove the entire appendage through the stone, the magic and earth giving way easily before her and collapsing backward as she swiped her hand left and right, removing a good chunk of the wall.

"Wow Luce, that was awesome! What kind of attack was that?" Natsu shouted as he inspected the damage.

"That? That was my Chaos Dragon's Rending Fist." Lucy explained as she allowed the magic to dissipate. "Rather than creating an explosive energy around my hands like you do, my fist attack is used to bisect magic like a blade. Normally I would coat each finger in ethernano to attack but I decided to conserve energy for the moment." She explained before a predatory grin crossed her features. "It's particularly good for breaking through mages barriers."

"Yes well, that's not the least bit disturbing." Carla coughed before glaring down the tunnel, clearly deep in thought. "I just hope that this path truly connects to the palace basement."

"Your information hasn't led us wrong yet, Carla. I'm sure it'll be right again." Wendy tried to comfort her cat companion, only for Carla to continue to glare while Happy stared down at the ground in thought.

"Something wrong, little buddy?"

"Say, why do you suppose I'm not getting any info too? I'm from Edolas like Carla, and I got sent to Earthland for the same mission too, right? So why don't I remember any of this stuff?"

"We agreed to not talk about that, remember?" Carla immediately replied, Happy staring at her for a moment before looking back down. "…it's not like I know what's up with you, either. And I'm not exactly comfortable with strange information in my head too."

The group was silent for a moment before Lucy took a step forward, drawing all eyes to her. "Regardless, we should keep moving forward. We have a time table to keep and a king to torture for information."

"Geez Lucy, your really are more brutal in the way you talk now that you got dragon magic back." Natsu commented, sighing at Lucy's uncomprehending stare. "Right well, lead the way."

The group walked in silence for a few more minutes before Natsu began to study the ceiling. "It really looks like this place could cave in at any moment."

"D-do you really think so?" Wendy stuttered nervously before Artemis placed a paw on her leg and drew her attention.

"Do not worry; my sensors detect no structural irregularities in the surrounding construction. It would take a good deal of force to collapse any portion of this tunnel."

"Artemis, are you using a lot of energy to scan the surrounding terrain?" Lucy questioned her Machias follower, the machine disguised as a cat nodding in response.

"Confirmed, not enough to cease function but I am using magical energy in order to scan properly."

"Then you should stop your scans. If we encounter more forces than I can handle I will be relying on you to protect the others."

"Orders confirmed, ceasing all active and passive scanning in order to preserve energy reserves.

"Heya, Luce…you think you could hold this torch for a moment?" Natsu suddenly called out in a strange voice, Lucy narrowing her eyes at a unperceived threat as she took the source of light from her partner.

"What is it Natsu? An enemy?"

"Don't move a muscle…" Natsu muttered as he raised his hands and twisted his fingers into a strange shape. ""Look! I made a dragon shadow puppet!"

Lucy blinked slowly at first, not comprehending what was happening, before leaning forward and studying Natsu's work. "Natsu…is this what Igneel looked like? Because that is unlike any dragon I have ever encountered and I can't say for certain that you were raised by a dragon if it was."

"I can confirm with Master's assessment. No known dragon lore pertains to them having such ill-defined features. Perhaps you simply lack the artistic integrity?" Artemis added in, Natsu crying out in rage while Wendy and Carla looked on in shock.

"Carla? I'm honestly really worried about our chances here.

"…I can't help but agree with you child."

The group continued on down the tunnel, occasionally stopping while Carla gave them new directions or until she received new information, until their group found themselves in a massive underground caver filled with gently glowing green mushrooms.

"This chamber should be just before the castle basement. But now we come to the hard part: reaching the king's bedchamber unnoticed, finding out what we need to know, and escaping unnoticed as well. It won't take them long to overwhelm us if we have to go up against their guards, even with Lucy and Artemis protecting us."

"Right, well then, everyone ready?" Wendy asked, the others all nodding before proceeding deeper into the cavern.

But just as Lucy was about to step forward, her combat senses kicked into high gear. Killing intent, intent that she or Dragon Lucy should have easily detected, was somehow pouring out from the corners of the cave. Without even the chance to warn the others, Lucy leapt upwards just in time to avoid some kind of white string wrapping around her. The strange attack instead wrapping around a nearby stalagmite. Wendy and Natsu however were not as lucky, both of them being wrapped up before they could even react.

"Wendy! Natsu!" Lucy cried out as soldiers steamed into the cavern, their spears pointed at her or the other bound slayers.  _How did they know they were coming? If we had tripped some kind of alarm system either Artemis or Dragon Lucy would have picked up on it._ Lucy thought in a panic as she leapt away from the thrusts of a few spears, landing on all fours as a growl escaped from her lips.

"Apprehend the intruders, protect the Lord Exceeds!" A voice Lucy immediately recognized as Erza's called out before a red headed woman who looked almost identical to their own Erza stepped forward, staring at Lucy first in contempt before a brief flash of shock passed through her eyes. "I see, so you are the Earthland wizards we were alerted to." She muttered as she glanced backwards at the still bound comrades. "Take the captured mages away. I will deal with this one." The other Erza commanded before she readied her own spear, the magic emanating from the weapon causing Lucy to pause for a second.

 _Damn it! If she's even half as strong as our Erza I won't be able to fight her down here without causing a cave in._ Lucy quickly deduced as she growled even louder, a few of the masked soldiers backing away nervously in response to the inhuman sound.  _But I can't just abandon everyone…damn it!_ Lucy screamed in her mind as she quickly glanced at Artemis, noting the curious fact that they hadn't been bound but ignoring that fact when the Machias met her gaze. A silent communication passed between them, Lucy confirming her previous order to protect the two defenseless cats while Artemis nodded slightly in response. She wanted, more than anything, to rush forward to her comrade's aid, her draconic senses all but screaming at her to keep them safe, that something precious to her was being taken away. But Lucy's combat training took precedent over her instincts; live and escape to fight another day, and take back what was being taken and make those how took what she found precious pay dearly.

Finally deciding on her course of action, Lucy couldn't help but growl loudly before standing and staring up at the ceiling with clear intent, the other Erza figuring out her intent only a second too late. " **Chaos Dragon's Roar!** " She screamed, releasing a beam of pure ethernano at the many stalagmites that covered the ceiling before she rushed back through the cave she had come from without even confirming if she had sealed the exit like she had intended.

As she rushed back the way they came, all light gone from the passageway but not impeding her in the slightest what with dragon Lucy automatically using the weave to enhance her sight, Lucy could help but scream in frustration before nearly giving into an emotion she hadn't felt since the day Jude Hearfilia had ordered the liquidation of all other subjects.

Pure dracoinic rage, a rage that threatened to consume her and leave her nothing more than a snarling beast without reason.

"I swear Natsu, Wendy; I  **WILL** get you back, even if I have to burn down this entire kingdom in order to do so."

* * *

Lucy Omentarilla yawned loudly as she tried to rub the sleep from her eyes, already bowing her head down in apology to Panterlily for the act before her yawn had even finished. To say that it had been a strange morning was a gross understatement. What with a direct communication from the Exceed Queen arriving before even first light informing them of intruders entering through the basement, intruders that needed to be apprehended and brought before the queen at the earliest opportunity. Almost immediately after the report came in that the intruders had been apprehended King Faust had called an emergency captain meeting, hence Omentarilla's current drowsiness. But before she could yawn again Erza walked through the doors, signaling the start of the meeting.

"Forgive me for my tardiness, my Lord. I needed to inform the captain of the Extalia guard that we are currently processing the prisoner and would be unable to release them into their custody as you requested.

The king nodded slightly, his intense gaze not changing in the slightest, before he spoke. "I see, did they accept the excuse?"

"Yes, but they didn't seem pleased with it." Erza replied looking a little flustered. "Are you sure it's wise to keep them here? We risk angering the queen if we do not comply."

"It is fine for now. They will accept our excuse for a time before they demand us to hand them over. Now then, give me a full report on these Earthland Wizards."

"Understood." Erza replied, casting a gaze at Omentarilla for a brief second before continuing. "As the queen's report stated, three Earthland Wizards, along with three Exceeds, were traveling through the underground passageway when we ambushed them. One of the wizards escaped from our magic binding rope while the other two were successfully captured. I attempted to attack the remaining mage but before I could unleash even a single attack the offending mage unleashed a magic attack from within her mouth to collapse part of the ceiling and likely escaped. I ordered two squads to secure the exit of the path, but before they could arrive the mage in question escaped. From there-…"

"Whoa, whoa, wait a sec…are you saying that this a totally crazy magic from her mouth of all things?" Hughes questioned in shock, whistling loudly when Erza nodded in confirmation.

"Indeed. And from what I overheard the single escapee saying, she was using dragon slayer magic. And from the Queen's intelligence, it appears that the other two also share that same magic."

The room went quiet for a moment, each captain processing what they had heard. Dragons hadn't been seen in Edolas for centuries, but the damage they had left behind was all but legendary. Many an ancient civilization had fallen to their might, and even the strongest weapon that the kingdom had ever built paled in comparison to their power. However, the dragons had gone extinct long ago for reasons that were not know to most…reasons that Omentarilla was privy too due to her unwanted heritage.

"Well hot damn...it must be super awesome to use magic like that."

"Hmmm…indeed, our troubles would be so little by comparison if we could conjure magic from our bodies like they do." Sugarboy added, Lucy flinching slightly at his statement.

_If only you knew the truth Sugarboy._

"I see…" Faust muttered before staring up at Kightwalker for the first time. "Was there anything else you needed to inform us of?"

Knightwalker once again glanced at Lucy, causing the blondes eyebrows to furrow in confusion, before continuing. "Yes there is…these mages from Earthland appear to be copies of known mages from our world. From what I've seen one of the mages appears to resemble Natsu and Wendy from the dark guild Fairy Tail. While the other…resembled Omentarilla."

Lucy's body froze the instant the words left the scarlet haired captains lips, her mind reeling at the implications.  _A-another me…but then…does that mean…_ Lucy all but shot out of her chair, drawing curious gazes from all those gathered. "Erza, are you absolutely certain that it was me? Your positive beyond a shadow of a doubt?"

Her fellow captain raised a curious eyebrow at Lucy's behavior, as it was quite out of character for her to be serious, but answered nonetheless. "While I can't say with one hundred percent certainty, she did look hauntingly like you down to the last detail. Added on to the fact that the louder of our captives was screaming for Lucy and it isn't hard to imagine that the escaped mage was indeed an Earthland you."

Lucy blinked rapidly before collapsing back into her chair, all thoughts of the captains gone from her mind.  _If that's true…and she's had a past like mine…then she may have made the choice I couldn't!_ Lucy realized with a start, a beyond happy grin crossing her features.  _And if the Anima proves anything, then the gate of our world can't be all that different from hers! She could open it!_

"My King!" Lucy shouted as she once again leapt to her feet, the kings wide and wary eyes landing on her form. "We must put all effort forward in capturing this other me! I would like you to authorize all troops in the capital to apprehend her, unharmed if possible! We must secure her cooperation at all costs!"

The King studied her for a good minute before answering. "…Does this have something to do with the research that you have been working on for the last few years?"

"It does." Lucy nodded in confirmation, meeting the king's gaze with one just as serious. "Under the assumption that this is indeed another me, she may have the answer we have been looking for. She could provide us with everlasting magic power." Lucy finished, allowing her statement to hang in the room for a moment.

The King regarded her for a moment more before continuing. "I see…and how exactly do we draw her out? If this other you has half the brain you do then she won't be caught so easily."

Lucy's smile grew even wider as she held up a finger, wiggling it before chuckling slightly. "It's simple; if she really is a dragon slayer like Queen said then she won't be willing to give up what's precious to her. And if they came here to reclaim their friends then we can tell where she will go." Lucy stated before explaining the entirety of her plan to those gathered, the King nodding in approval before glaring at Erza.

"Knightwalker, you are to assist Omentarilla in whatever capacity she requires. Sugarboy, Hughes, you are to take your divisions and patrol the city in an attempt to corral this mage into our clutches. Do you all understand your orders?"

"Yes Sir!" Lucy, along with every other captain answered, each one standing and saluting in response before exiting the room, all except for Byro, who had been glaring at Omentarilla the entire time. How dare the upstart whore try and take his place as the king's primary advisor. She had even overridden the original plans with her insane ramblings. If nothing was done then she would inevitably lead their kingdom to ruin. He had to stop the traitorous bitch from ruining everything he had worked for over the years.

And so the chief of staff turned to his king, his trademark laugh already escaping from his lips. "My king, a moment of your time."

"What is it Byro?"

"What do you intend to do with the captured mages?"

"At first it was to study them, to determine how they are capable of controlling magic within their bodies. But with Omentarilla's plan we shall use them as bait to draw this third mage out into the open."

"Then, my king, may I suggest an alternate use of these dragon slayers?" Byro offered, continuing when the king made no move to stop them. "With powerful dragon slaying magic flowing through their veins I believe they would be perfect subjects for activating the dragon chain cannon. With them we could finally obtain the true magic paradise we have always dreamed of. We could finally put code E.T.D into effect and free mankind of the angles control."

"Proceed Byro, you may begin experimenting at once, but do not let Omentarilla know what you are doing." The king eventually ordered, rising from his chair. "We shall do whatever we have to do in order obtain everlasting magic power, whether it is your plan or hers that succeeds in the end I care little."

"Of course, your majesty, I will begin immediately." Byro replied before leaving the chamber, leaving the king to glare into space, his thoughts hidden from all.

* * *

Lucy jumped from roof to roof, her fury and frustration growing with each step. Part of her wanted nothing more than to storm into the castle and slaughter everything that stood in front of her. But an even greater part of her mind wanted nothing more than to simply crumble down in a dark corner and cry over the fact that she had been forced to make the hard choice in abandoning her family. Both opposite emotions threatening to overwhelm her mind and compromise her ability to fight.

"Ugh, I honestly don't know if I would prefer to have Dragon Lucy suppressing these feelings or not." Lucy complained as she slowly crawled over the top of a building to see the massive Lacrima in the plaza. "Is this what Natsu and the others have to deal with on a regular basis? How do they not go crazy from feeling so much?"

"Geh hi…because most of us aren't nearly as crazy as you are, Bunny Girl." A new voice called out from behind her.

Before Lucy could even begin to register who exactly called her that strange name or who laughed like that, her body was already reacting to the perceived threat. Lucy immediately pushed off the roof and attempted to whip her leg around at what she perceived to be her foes head, luckily for both parties involved however, in her haste she neglected to use an actual dragon slayer technique. Hence why her foot was caught only inches away from its target destination, a pair of red eyes watching her with both amusement and surprise.

"Gajeel? What are you doing here? How did you get out of the Lacrima?" Lucy questioned, now daggling upside down as Gajeel lifted her into the air by her still held foot.

"Was never in that damn crystal down there, I was sent here by that damn hooded bastard. Told me to save everyone or something like that, wasn't really listening all that much." Gajeel explained before finally putting Lucy back down, disappointed with her lack of a response with being held upside down. "Weren't you supposed to be here with others or something? Mystogan mentioned something about dragon slayers being immune to that whole hole in the sky thing." The iron dragon slayer questioned as he looked down into the packed plaza, looking for the other him to see if the reporter him had gathered any information on what to do.

But his searching stopped when he heard a low growl from behind him, Gajeel turning slowly to see Bunny Girl staring off into space with an absolutely pissed expression on her face, the change from her normally neutral expression so shocking that he could only gawk in surprise.

"I was…until they were captured because they couldn't use their magic." Lucy growled out, Gajeel only hesitating for a moment before breaking out into laughter.

"Seriously? Salamander and the little Squirt can't use magic? Hah! Bet I could beat the shit out of that pink haired bastard now."

"While I admit that there are many things in life that I don't understand the humor in, don't you think we have more far greater concerns than a simple fight of dominance?" Lucy questioned, feeling a slight pang of annoyance before Dragon Lucy swept the emotion aside, her subconscious defender still trying to keep her emotionally stable despite the fact that her draconic emotions were boiling over constantly, the seal no longer able to fully keep them under control.

"Eh, it's never a bad time to put that Pinky in his place." Gajeel said with a shrug before narrowing his eyes, finding the other him gesturing to another portion of the plaza before making his way through the crowd. "So what'cha gonna do now Bunny Girl?"

"I intended to capture important members of their leadership in order to barter for the release of Natsu and Wendy along with the cats...why?"

"Cuse' break'en out a bunch of losers would be much simpler if we had an army at our backs." Gajeel confidently snickered as he pointed over his shoulder at the lacrima. "I have it on good authority that we can break the others out of the lacrima by hitting it really hard with dragon slayer magic."

That statement got Lucy's attention, her previous fury gone as she gazed at Gajeel with a blank expression. "Are you sure? How did you find out about this method then?'

"Mystogan mentioned it before he sent me over here. What? Did he forget to tell you or somethin'?"

"Possibly, it is also possible that he wasn't aware of my slayer powers, as I don't recall him being present when I talked about my past." Lucy thought out loud before standing up and nodding at her fellow slayer. "Very well, I'll work with you to save the rest of Fairy Tail first before going after Natsu and the others."

Gajeel smiled confidently before tossing a tattered cloak to the blonde slayer. "Then put this on, don't want ya brining all the soldiers down on us until we're ready for them."

"…why did you have a spare cloak on you?" Lucy asked as she placed the tattered cloak on her shoulders.

"Geh hi, never know when ya need a good cloak for something." Gajeel answered as he jumped down from the roof into a back alley, Lucy following shortly after him. The two mages in hiding slowly began making their way through the crowd; Lucy scowling over the fact that so many people were celebrating the sacrifice of so many lives but she didn't dare break their cover in order to find out.

"Damn, quite a few of the armored bastards 'round here." Gajeel cursed as he surveyed the guards in an attempt to find a way through. But before Lucy could offer her own tactical take on the situation a series of dull explosions resounded through the area, both slayers staring upwards to see a firework message of "North" in the sky, the crowd cheering even more in response to the celebration.

 _North? Why would they launch celebratory fireworks with a cardinal direction?_ Lucy couldn't help but question in confusion. But her confusion apparently wasn't shared by her temporary companion, as Gajeel quickly chuckled to himself before calling out to the equally as confused guards.

"Oi! Didn't you see the message? There's suspicious people gathering on the north side of the Lacrima! We need to get over there and stop them!" He shouted for reasons Lucy couldn't quite understand.

But the iron dragon slayer's plan seemed to work, as only a few seconds later the guards began to thin out and push away the gathered civilians, leaving the two hooded slayers with room to fight.

"You ready for this, Bunny Girl? Just go crazy and buy me some time. I'll get those idiots out of the crystal." Gajeel taunted before throwing away his cloak, Lucy following his lead a second later.

"Orders received…executing." Lucy responded darkly, Dragon Lucy already beginning to take control over her limbs before charging forward with the same reckless abandon that Natsu and Gajeel normally fought with. Most of the guards didn't even realize that they had been hit, Lucy's ethernano covered limbs lashing out faster than they could react, landing blows wherever she could before moving onto the next unfortunate man. Her combat enhanced mind barely paied attention to the blood that flew through the air as her Chaos Dragon's Rending Claws tore through armor and flesh equally, although she was certain to avoid vitals as the Master's command to not kill was in the forefront of her mind.

"Damn Bunny Girl, always knew ya had it in ya." Gajeel commented before jumping into the air, his arm transforming into his Iron Dragon's Sword. "But it's my turn now!" He announced before lashing out at the lacrima

But the blow never landed. Instead, when the blade had only been a few inches from the surface of the crystal, a golden translucent barrier appeared before him, Gajeel's arm bouncing away with an almost musical ring.

"Sorry, mages or Earthland; but we cannot allow you to destroy that lacrima as of now. It took a lot of effort to obtain it after all." A new voice called out to the two slayers, a voice that Lucy recognized all too well.

Her vision flaring red for a moment, Lucy slowly turned to see herself staring back at her, a strange sadness in her eyes as she pointed her staff at the Lacrima. But her counterpart wasn't alone, as Lucy could easily see the other Erza along with enough guardsmen that they were literally filling the plaza. Lucy could faintly hear Gajeel mutter something about crazy blondes from behind her back but she didn't have time to care. The already strained seal over her powers was further loosened by what the blonde slayer could only see as a betrayal of the very ideals of Fairy Tail in both her counterpart and the other Erza's actions. Her blood calling out for a course of action that Lucy had absolutely no experience in.

She wanted revenge, to pay them back in blood for everything they had done to those precious to her.

"Gajeel…" Lucy hissed; lower her stance down until she was on all fours. "Leave this fight to me…there're mine!" she announced, launching forward as she wrapped ethernano around the entirety of her upper arms in preparation for a wing attack. As she approached the two captains in the Royal Army, Lucy couldn't help but grin in what she could only assume was pride that the other Erza appeared shocked by how fast Lucy appeared in front of her, already inside her guard and preparing to strike her down. But once again a translucent barrier appeared right before her, her whips of chaotic magical energy bouncing away and leaving cracks on said barrier before it faded.

Lucy couldn't help but glare over at her counterpart, noticing that her copy was now twirling her staff gracefully around her form, the rings on its headpiece ringing almost musically through the air.  _So those barriers were her doing after all. While they aren't so strong that I can't break through, they are a nuisance...I guess I should just take her out first then._ She decided, her focus shifting from the red haired spear wielder to her doppelganger.

Lucy leapt through the air, launching a series of small ethernano balls, her "Chaos Dragon's Disintegration Orbs" at the other Lucy, each one intercepted by a smaller but equally as strong barriers. Her counterpart blonde giggling lightly as her barriers continued to intercept her attacks and causing Lucy to growl in increasing fury.

"Sorry to disappoint you, other me. But my "Staff of The Flowing Heavens" is not so easily dealt with." She announced in a far too patient tone of voice for someone who had a furious dragon slayer barreling down on her. "I ask you, would you please surrender now? I promise that we will treat you fairly as a prisoner of war."

"I'm surprised another me would be foolish enough to think I would believe that I would trust someone who betrayed Fairy Tail." Lucy spat back, the amount of fury in her voice surprising even her.  _Is that…is that really how I am without the seal suppressing me?_

The other Lucy visibly flinched at the not so hidden barb in Lucy's words, her eyes closing for a moment before she returned her gaze to Lucy with a newfound determination. "Right…if there's one thing I could expect from me; it would be that I would find Fairy Tail no matter what world you would be in." She muttered with what sounded almost like sorrow before continuing with steel in her voice. "However, I cannot allow you to escape our grasp, for the future of our world." She announced before her eyes shifted to the right slightly, Lucy not quite understanding why she would look away from a furious combatant.

She got her answer a second later when her back exploded into flames, the searing pain washing across her body for a brief second before the feelings were cut off by the weave. Rolling across the ground for a few feet before landing back on her feet, Lucy glared up to see the other Erza smiling down on her, the tip of her spear smoking slightly.

"Ten Commandments;  **Explosion**." She announced, the tip of her spear returning to what it was previously. "By our king's command, we shall defeat you!" And with that the other Erza charged her, Lucy only barely able to dodge her blows by the barest of margins.

 _She's just as good as our Erza!_ Lucy realized as she tried to create some distance between her and the spear-wielding fairy hunter only for the other Erza to instantly close the gap again, and with such a powerful foe bearing down on her Lucy had no choice but to turn over combat to Dragon Lucy, her subconscious defender making use of its accelerated thought process to fight back. But no matter what she did she couldn't make so much as a scratch on the other Erza. Every time her attacks were about to land a barrier would appear in front of her, the barriers either just barely holding her off or breaking under her magic destroying powers. But the brief moment it took for Lucy to break through was all the time that the other Erza would need to get just out of range of her attacks. And she couldn't even switch to targeting her own copy, as that would just leave her back exposed.

"Hope you girls didn't think you could just forget about me! Ya got too distracted by Bunny Girl there to stop this!" Lucy heard Gajeel brag, all three women turning just in time to watch him slam his sword arm into the Lacrima, the sound of shattering glass causing Lucy's stomach to plummet. But instead of being permanently damaged like Lucy expected, the Lacrima instead began to glow so bright that even Lucy had trouble determining what exactly was happening.

"No! The fool's going to destroy the Lacrima!" The other Erza shouted in rage, Lucy's copy shielding her eyes as the light grew more intense.

"No…this feeling…it's…" The other her murmured, Lucy feeling a pang of annoyance that she couldn't figure out what was happening before Dragon Lucy suppressed the emotion.

Slowly, the light faded from the plaza to reveal something that shocked everyone present. Slowly the light faded until two figures were kneeling in the place that the lacrima had been sitting. Two figures that all four combatants easily recognized.

"Erza…Gray?" Lucy clarified in a daze, expecting the full might of Fairy Tail to appear behind her but instead only finding her last two team members in their place.

"That's the Earthland me?" Edo-Erza called out, her voice revealing her own not inconsiderable surprise.

"What the hell? It's just the two of ya…hey! Get up, get it together!" Gajeel shouted as the two Fairy Tail mages slowly rose to their feet, blinking slowly in shock.

"Gajeel…Lucy…what is…?" Erza started as she slowly examined her surroundings.

"What the…last I remember I was in the guild hall and then…"Gray tried to figure out what was happening.

"Stop them! Do not let a single intruder escape!" Edo-Erza shouted out to the gathered soldiers before charging forward. Gray and Erza attempting to use their magic but quickly noticing the lack of response and giving the Edo-Erza the chance she needed to apprehend the magicians.

Or she would have, if Lucy had not leapt in front of her and unleashed a breath attack. The swirling chaotic blue energy blowing her backwards and sending the troopers flying through the air once the energy detonated.

"Gajeel! Get them out of here!" Lucy shouted out as she kicked away one of the charging troopers before he could get to close.

"Hell no Bunny Girl, you're not gonna get me to run from a fight! Plus this is my chance to beat the crap out of an Erza." Gajeel immediately returned, but before he could even prepare a spell he was stopped by the gaze that Lucy shot at him. Gone was the normally blank or apathetic look on her face, and in its place was a mask of cold fury that promised pain if her orders weren't obeyed.

This was not emotionally stunted mage of Fairy Tail, Lucy the elemental summoner. This was the mage assassin of the Heartfilia institute and chaos dragon slayer, Subject One.

"Tch…damn woman, you could just ask nice." Gajeel cursed in an attempt to save some of his dignity before grabbing both of the powerless mages and leading them away, both Erza and Gray yelling about leaving Lucy behind.

"While you may share Omentarilla's looks, it's clear you lack her intellect." Edo-Erza taunted as she slammed the shaft of her spear into Lucy's stomach, sending her skidding backwards. "All we shall do now is defeat you and go after your friends."

"Oh…I suppose you have a point." Lucy admitted before an almost feral grin covered her face. "Then I guess it's up to me to take out most right now." She announced as she pointed her right arm upwards, her palm facing out.  _With so little ethernano in the air, I might not be able to remain conscious after using this…but that doesn't matter right now. I need to cover their retreat, that's all that matters._ The blonde slayer decided as arcs of blue energy began to travel up her arm until they gathered into a small orb in the center of her palm.

Her opposite seemed appeared to figure out only a second too late what Lucy was doing, as the blonde could vaguely hear her own voice shouting out orders to stop her. But it was already far too late. " **Dragon Slayer Secret Art; Chaos Dragon's Saturation Strike!** " Lucy shouted in a commanding voice, the crackling blue energy in her palm flying upwards until it was hovering in the air over everyone's heads. Everyone still in the courtyard turned their eyes skyward to stare at the hovering, pulsing orb, their minds filled with both curiosity and trepidation.

The orb continued to hover for a moment longer, almost as if it was trying to decide what to do, before it finally swelled and detonated. But rather than simply unleashing a chaotic blue explosion of energy down on their heads, the exploding orb fractured into smaller versions of Lucy's Disintegration strike. And while the fact that they were only the orbs Lucy had been firing from the beginning might not have caused that much panic, as her copy had proven that she was more than capable of blocking said attacks.

No, it was the sheer number that caused everyone present to panic. As there was so many that they filled the sky with their destructive light.

As Lucy began to black out, the exhaustion of using one of her Secret Arts in an Ethernano-lacking environment too much for body to take, she couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.  _Thank goodness they got away. And if they capture me then I can help Natsu and the others…hang on guys, I won't stop until I get you back._

* * *

Omentarilla couldn't help but collapse onto her knees the moment the sky stopped falling on them, leaving her exhausted and gasping for breath as the smoke cleared from her opposite's all or nothing attack.

When her Earthland counterpart had fired off the strange magic Omentarilla realized only a second too late what she intended to do, the blonde captain spinning her staff around her form in a desperate attempt to conjure enough shields to defend herself and the others nearby. Her opposite had used strange magic in a similar manner earlier, and it had taken all of Omentarilla's not so insignificant concentration to defend against them. As the orbs fell down like rain the head of Magical research managed to place a multiple layer barrier around both herself and Knightwalker, but as the smoke cleared almost each and every one had been breached, leaving her panting due to the exertion and with a chill traveling down her spine at how close to death they likely were.

"All lieutenants, report in! Those who can still move go after the three who got away! I want those criminals found before sunset!" Knightwalker ordered as the scarlet haired woman glared over at the collapsed Earthland mage, the cold fury on her face speaking volumes of the volume of the pain she wanted to inflict. "She should consider herself fortunate that you require her, otherwise I wouldn't suffer her presence another second." The strongest captain commented before turning a gaze on her blonde companion. "Are you certain we need her? What could someone from another world possibly offer our kingdom?"

Omentarilla couldn't help but smile as she shakily stood and made her way over to her opposite, noticing that even while unconscious the other her looked ready to kill, their face contorted and their fingers curled into fists. "Yes, she is quite deadly isn't she?" the blonde priestess thought out loud as two soldiers wrapped the captured slayers wrists and ankles in a generous amount of magic sealing glue before beginning to haul her away, only stopping when Omentarilla waved them away. "But at the same time, I can't help but feel a sense of pride in seeing her fight against all of us...while also a sense of dread at what could turn me into a bloodthirsty monster." She commented as she kneeled down and moved a few strands of hair out of her counterpart's face, the surreal feeling in her mind only growing stranger as she did so.

Knightwalker turned to stare down at the priestess for a moment before staring up at the sky, the Lacrima created from Earthland's mages hovering in the center of the sky. "…Does it matter? No matter what this other you is, you are still you; the being who will bring salvation to this world."

Omentarilla stared down at her own unconscious face for a moment more before rising back to her feet, the circlets on her staff ringing as she did so. "True, and with two descendants in this world I will no longer be denied entry. I will force the gate back open with the aid of my Earthland self and bring back the magic our world needs to survive. No matter the cost."


	22. Chapter 22

When Lucy returned to consciousness it was not nearly as peaceful as her previous bouts of unconsciousness. There was no Dragon Lucy to mute her thoughts, no Happy to distract her with strange exclamations of love, and no Natsu to call her weird and to smile at her.

No, there was only an oppressive silence and the feeling of cold steel against her wrists.

Within seconds panic started to overwhelm the blonde slayers sleep addled mind, her mind fully believing that she was back in the clutches of the Heartfilia, that she had never truly escaped. Her breaths started to come in short ragged gasps. She tried to free her limbs, flailing about like a wounded animal, but she was so secured that she could barely twitch. The sound of metal screeching against metal the only noise in whatever dungeon she now found herself in.

But as her thought processes accelerated she realized where she was and what had happened to her, and the fear and panic was replaced by fury and a desire for blood. Lucy couldn't understand the sudden hatred that suddenly completely consumed her, but she didn't care, all she wanted to do was tear into whatever put her in chains.

_How dare they…HOW DARE THEY?! I refuse to be bound like this! I will not bow to such creatures! I'll rip them apart and bathe in their blood! Their innocents will_ _**BURN** _ _for this! I'll…I'll…oh god what is wrong with me?_

Lucy had stopped thrashing about to stare at the stone wall in shock and horror at her inadvertent thoughts. Was this really what she was like without the seal intact? Just a bloodthirsty dragon? And if that was true, if she was nothing more than a murder hungry beast, then how could she ever look anyone in Fairy Tail in the eye again? She couldn't even claim that it was just dragon slayer instincts; as Natsu, Wendy, even Gajeel didn't behave like that. Sure, the two boys could be violent at seemingly random intervals, but not like…like what she just thought.

_Mom…do I still need to suffer for what I did to you that day? Can I really never be free from this? Maybe…maybe it would be better for me to just disappear…_

But Lucy's dark thoughts cut out when suddenly it felt almost like something was nuzzling her head, a manner of affection her adoptive mother preferred to use when Lucy did particularly well in her studies. The blonde mage's eyes instantly shot up, desperate to see what she had longed to see for so long, but whatever had created the feeling was gone. But in its place, the dark thoughts that had been weighing her down only seconds ago faded from her mind, leaving her feeling almost refreshed.

 _Ok…ok…I can't afford to think about this stuff anymore. I have to figure out how to get everyone out._ Lucy eventually decided as she studied her current room, finding nothing noteworthy that she could use to escape with.  _The fact that they went through so much effort not only to capture Natsu and Wendy, but myself as well, would likely mean that they have something they need from us. Maybe extracting our magical energy? But if that was the case why bind us in magic seals? Can they extract ethernano even with the ethernano sealed?...no, it doesn't matter why, whatever reason they captured us for, the moment they give me an opening I'll take it, even if I have to beat them unconscious with my bare fists._

Her decision reached, Lucy simply stared out the bars of her cell with a look of tranquility on her face. One of the many bits of intelligence that was implanted into her during her time at the institute was the training to escape from capture. She would lure her captors into a false sense of security, allow them to move take her to an interrogator, and would then escape at the first opportunity. It was hardly the first time she had to escape from foes after all. At the very least they had left her with her bow and equipment, something she couldn't quite understand but was certain to take advantage of when the time came.

It wasn't long after Lucy decided on her course of action that the sound of metal boots slowly making her way down the hallway reached her draconicly enhanced ears. And sure enough it wasn't long before two faceless soldiers appeared on the other side of her bars, staring down at her with a mixture of superiority and trepidation.

"…Earthland mage, you will come with us." One of them explained as they unlocked the cell door and cautiously approached, one moving for her shackles while the other kept their spear pointed at her throat. "Make any move, and we will end you on the king's authority."

Lucy said nothing in reply, simply closing her eyes and allowing them to remove the shackles and lift her to her feet. Despite the metal being removed she still couldn't feel any of her magic returning, meaning that whatever the white substance they had placed on her hands was it was responsible for the seal.

It wasn't long before the three were moving down the stone corridors of the castle, Lucy in the center with a guard in front and behind her. She remained quiet throughout the trip, her guards fooling themselves into believing that she was actually afraid of the threat of death, but instead she was memorizing every detail of the corridors she was being lead down. Where the exits were, where guards were posted, everything.

At first Lucy had assumed that they were leading her to an audience with the King, or maybe just bypassing the questioning and simply move on to whatever torture was considered normal in this world, but instead they arrived at a simple wooden door. The guard in front stepped forward and knocked lightly and after receiving a voice that sounded far too familiar to Lucy, the guard opened the door while the one behind her shoved her inside.

The familiar voice turned out to be exactly who Lucy thought it was, as she saw her double sitting behind a massive desk with an almost…upset? An upset look on her face as she watched the guards force her inside. "I believe I ordered you to treat her with respect, please refrain from harming her in the feature please."

"But Captain! You saw what she did back in the central plaza. We can't let a monster like that-."

"Her previous behavior is irrelevant, she is my guest and she should be respected as such." The other her interrupted with a pout on her face, only causing Lucy's mind to further sink into confusion. Why would another her bother to treat her with respect when she didn't even respect herself? "Leave us." The Edo-Lucy ordered, the guards hesitating before both shuffling out and shutting the door behind them, though from the sound of their breathing Lucy could tell they had were still nearby. "…This is certainly a surreal experience, I always wondered what it would be like to have a twin sister, but now that I see you before me I can't help but feel out of place."

Lucy weighed her responses carefully before replying. "I suppose I feel the same. I was only ever prepared for magical hallucinations that took on my form, not otherworld copies."

Omentarilla laughed at that, though her laugh was a little forced, before gesturing for Lucy to take a seat opposite of the desk. However, the blonde dragon slayer made no move for the chair, causing her Edo-counterpart to shift uncomfortably.

"…What is this? I'm your captive so why aren't you attempting to extract information from me? Unless meeting in offices is your world's version of violent extraction of information?" Lucy questioned with her head tilted in confusion. In truth, she had thought of escaping already, but the situation was so far outside of what she expected that she just couldn't operate according to how she had been programmed.

The other her stared at her in wide eyed shock for a moment before doing something that the blonde dragon slayer never expected; she hugged Lucy tightly, tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you think the worst…It looks like not only do we have different personalities but our history doesn't quite add up if you're expecting torture." She apologized before stepping away and smiling; only adding to Lucy's confusion at the situation. "I suppose that nothing I could tell you will fully alleviate your fears, but I can tell you this; so long as you hear me out and help me I will return you and the rest of those gathered from Earthland back to your world. With your help we will never need to harvest magic from your world ever again."

Lucy narrowed her eyes at her opposite, who was smiling diplomatically at her. Could she trust her? Not likely considering that the her before her betrayed her Fairy Tail, but she still didn't know where they were holding the others. So if this her was offering her a means to not only recover Natsu and Wendy, but to return all of Magnolia to Earthland? Then she really didn't have much choice but to trust her until she could figure out her own means of securing what she desired.

"…Fine," Lucy eventually declared with a pout, her Edolas counterpart looking positively ecstatic. "But if you betray me I will rip you to shreds."

The other her blinked in shock before taking a nervous gulp of air. "I-Is it normal for mages of your world to be so…cruel?" she asked, to which Lucy simply cocked her head to the side for a moment before replying.

"I can't really say, as I hardly know a large sample size of mages, but for those mages that were raised by dragons it tends to be a common similarity."

Even for Lucy, the silence in the room that followed her statement was particularly strange. "Y-your parents were dragons?"

"Parent, my mother was yes."

"I-I see…the Solomon of your world must be quite the character." The other her mumbled to herself, Lucy simply tilting her head in curiosity, before shaking her head and holding out her hand, a large smile on her face. "Well then, allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Lucy Omentarilla; head of Magical Research and Weaponry, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"…Lucy of Fairy Tail, and I don't have any titles." The blonde dragon slayer replied begrudgingly as she took the offered seat, her hands still bound in front of her as she tried to get conferrable. The two Lucy's stared at each other for a few seconds more, the Earthland one looking sullen while the Edolas version simply couldn't figure out where to start with her explanation, but eventually she simply had to move forward.

"Alright…so I suppose I should just cut forward and tell you exactly what I want." Omentarilla said before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, her eyes opening after a second with newfound determination. "I want your help to return to the gate…and to use your own position as a descendant to open our own gateway."

"…What?" Lucy replied dumbly, Omentarilla smiling patiently at her in response.

"There's no reason to pretend to be ignorant of our likely shared birthright. While I can guess at what your parents told you about informing others of the truth, I can assure you that I have a perfect understanding of what lies beyond doorway."

Silence once again reigned in the office before Lucy finally responded. "I honestly have no idea what you're talking about. The dragon that raised me told me nothing about a "Doorway" and I never met my birthparents so I have no frame of reference to what you're saying."

Lucy honestly felt bad about how aghast her counterpart looked right then. Her expression looking like someone had just punched her in the gut."N-no…that…that can't be…how could your world operate without the bloodline… how could magic exist there if you…"

Lucy watched her opposite with a wary gaze, Omentarilla nearly hyperventilating at whatever realization she had happened upon. "It looks like we lack a common understanding of our pasts, and since I'm your prisoner at the moment I will reveal my history first. Is that acceptable?" she put forward, her Edo-counterpart nodding mutely clearly still in shock.

And so Lucy once again began to recount her life story, although this time her emotional attachment to the memories was strangely detached, like she was discussing someone else's problems. She could tell it was strange, especially since she had such difficulty with this tale last time, but she didn't have any time to worry about the implications of the most emotionally damaging time in her life now being something she could speak of plainly later, she had people to save.

Omentarilla's look shifted between absolute horror and immense sympathy, two emotions that Lucy would have never expected to see in a traitors eyes. From what she had heard from the much angrier Levy this woman had actively worked against her family, so why would she show such a face to an enemy from another world? Surely it wasn't just another emotion that Lucy just didn't understand.

The room was silent after Lucy finished her tale, her opposite sitting across the desk with her eyes closed in contemplation. But when the young woman finally did move it was to do something that Lucy hadn't anticipated, she rose once again to walk around and hug the still confused slayer. "I see…while I can't claim to have had the best upbringing, I'm truly sorry that you've had to go through so much."

"…Why?" Lucy eventually questioned, Omentarilla staring at her in confusion in response. "Why would someone who betrayed Fairy Tail care about what I've gone through? You betrayed your own family to survive correct? So why would my issues matter?"

Omentarilla staggered backwards in shock before chuckling humorlessly, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes as she stared out the window to her right. "I see…so you met with this world's Fairy Tail already?"

"Your Levy, she claimed you were a traitor."

"Right…I suppose that that's how they would view me now…not that I can blame them." She murmured quietly before once again turning her gaze back to Lucy. "Tell me Lucy, if Fairy Tail were to face destruction, if their very way of life was becoming endangered, what would you do?"

"Anything I need to." Lucy answered immediately, staring at her opposite with a look that practically shouted "Don't ask pointless questions." Fairy Tail had given her everything, it only made sense that she offer everything she had in return for that chance. And only a few seconds later Lucy realized what her other self was hinting at, Omentarilla smiling sadly at her realization.

"I was certain that I would understand. In order to protect them and their way of life I had to turn my back on them." She explained as she took her seat. "You see, our world is dying. Not necessarily in the sense that life is ending, but our culture, our strength, is dying out. Long ago our world was quite similar to yours, as can be seen by the Exceed…"

"Exceed?"

"Ah, of course you wouldn't know. The three felines that accompanied you back to our world are actually from here. Beings that live in the sky and are gods to most of mankind." Omentarilla explained before chuckling lightly. "Of course, most do not have access to the records that my bloodline has, and as such they aren't that different from humans of your world, capable of internal magic but otherwise no different than those who live on the surface. Anyway, these Exceed prove that long ago all intelligent life in this world was capable of such magic."

"However things changed around one thousand years ago when one of my ancestors broke our world." Omentarilla explained as she stared down at her clenched hands. "You see, the truth of the matter is that long ago my family once ruled this world in its entirety."

"…Huh?" Lucy muttered dumbly, her opposite giggling at her confusion.

"Hard to believe right? We were once King's and Queen's of this world, Priests and Priestesses for the first of our bloodline that first brought magic to our world." Omentarilla's smile faded then, her eyes once again staring off into a distant memory. "A being that's name, and very existence, were lost to time. A king, a god, an entity know only as…Solomon."

The moment the name left Omentarilla's lips Lucy felt a strange chill travel down her spine, almost like she was outside in the snow. It was a name that Lucy couldn't forget, a name that she had absolutely no luck in tracking down during her free time in Fairy Tail.

"Wait, Solomon created magic? How? Who were they?" Lucy questioned as she leaned forward in anticipation.

But Omentarilla simply shook her head. "We don't know. There aren't even records of what gender the person was, let alone how they accomplished such a monumental task. But it is the truth nonetheless. They brought order on the chaos that our early world was immersed in, brought civilization to humanity, and then vanished without a trace, placing my ancestor in charge of keeping the peace."

"Then does that mean that I…" Lucy trailed off, leaving her question hanging in the air. She had never before thought about who her birth parents were, as she had her mother and now Makarov to act as parents, but if they shared this similarity then did that mean that Lucy was royalty? And would that mean that she wouldn't be able to remain with her friends anymore?

"I honestly don't know, while it's true that we have the same looks and certain aspects of our personality I was most certainly not raised by a dragon. So I can't know for sure. But anyway, around one thousand years ago everything changed. One of my ancestors, a man whose name was erased from history due to his crimes, attempted to break one of the few rules that were left to us; he attempted to seize control of the gate for himself."

"Gate?"

"The source of all magic, an endless fount of pure ethernano that gives a world its magical energy. The man attempted to seize control of this power and in turn we and all of mankind were cursed by Solomon. The Gate shut, forever sealing off the source of magic from our world, and we were cast out of the Golden City to live in the wastes of our world, my bloodline never again able to wield power."

"While that foolish king might have been alone in his ambition, it was all of mankind that suffered for his arrogance. From then on we were forced to seal magic inside weapons, using magic like it was any other finite resource, and that was that."

"…This still doesn't explain why you betrayed Fairy Tail."

"No, I suppose it doesn't….when I was a child I lived with my mother and father in the far reaches of this world. The curse of Solomon dooming us to live in exile, but it wasn't long until the kingdoms forces came to arrest my parents for the crime of using magic without the Kingdoms permission. My parents told me to flee into the forest, both my mother and father staying behind to buy me time, and it wasn't long after I escaped that I learned that my parents had been put to death as traitors."

"I wandered though the forest, starving and delirious, before collapsing. I thought I was going to die, join my parents in the afterlife and finally bring an end to our cursed existence, but to my surprise I awoke to the sight of concerned faces and food. Fairy Tail found me and offered me shelter, the Master offering me a place in their family like the grandfather I never knew."

Omentarilla stared back up at Lucy then, an honest to god smile on her face that even Lucy couldn't doubt the sincerity of. "I loved them like the family I lost; a family not bound by blood but by bond, but throughout it all I never forgot what my family was trying to do."

"You see, my parents, and by extension myself, desired to undo the damage we had done by once again opening the gate for our world before the last vestiges of magic faded from our reality. For years I struggled in vain to find a solution, all the while our family got smaller, even our Master falling to buy us time, but one day I discovered what could possibly be a solution. The kingdom was working on a device that they called the Anima, the magic that drained your world of magic bit by bit and turned it into lacrimas for us to use. As stopgap measure by any definition but the implications of its existence were far more important."

"The kingdom discovered a way for energy to travel between worlds, something that was once the domain of Solomon."

"And so I was forced to make a choice. Even if we fought to the last man Fairy Tail would not survive the loss of magic, as they are a magic guild after all…but to join with the very group that took everything from me? To swallow my pride and bow to the man who ordered the death of my parents and Master?"

Omentarilla had stood up from her desk then, her gaze growing more and more furious as time went on despite the fact that her voice remained subdued in order to not alert the guards outside of her treasons words. "But at the end of the day, I arrived at the same conclusion you gave me earlier. That I would do anything and everything I could to save my family, even if that meant that I had to betray them for the very entity that sought to ruin them."

Silence once again ruled in the office as the two blondes digested each other's tales. Lucy for her part could empathize with her counterpart, but at the same time couldn't forgive her for putting her family in danger. And thus had to move the conversation along. "Alright, I understand your reasons, but I don't know yet what you expect me to do."

"Oh yes, I suppose that I didn't cover that part did I." The other blonde realized with another giggle, the sound of Lucy's own laughter coming from another person somewhat unsettling. "While our pasts may diverge it still is a fact that you are me, and as such must have some connection with Solomon…right?"

"I…I suppose so? I can't be certain but after my death I remember seeing something like a massive gate. And according to my friends I was possessed by something that talked about a gate…but I can't be certain." Lucy responded, her counterpart blinking slowly in response.

"You've died…no, can't get distracted by that right now." She muttered before forging ahead. "Regardless, as long as you have a connection to Solomon and have not been cursed you should be able to bring me to our world's gate. And from there I will be able to open it once again and return unlimited magic to our world."

"Very well then, what do I need to do?"

"…Truly? No questions on whether or not you will be harmed in this? What exactly I intend to do to you?" Omentarilla asked as she once again looked down at her hands, looking almost bashful. "For all you know I might need to operate on you in order to accomplish my goals. So why-."

That doesn't matter." Lucy declared matter-of-factly, the foreign emotion of impatience beginning to grow in her mind at the lack of progress. "I already told you I will do anything to save Fairy Tail. What you do to me doesn't matter."

"I see…then let us begin." Omentarilla stated as she held out her hand, palm up, and stared at Lucy expectantly.

"…Is there something invisible in your hand that I'm supposed to use?"

"Wha…no, I need you to hold my hand." Omentarilla replied in confusion before staring down at her hand. Lucy for her part stared at her opposite curiously for a second but complied, placing her own hand in hers. Omentarilla smiled for a second before closing her eyes and took a deep breath. "…Oh King of the One Truth, hear my plea. I, your descendant, hereby request passage to your kingdom. To seek out the truth, to do my duty. May I bask in the glory of your magic!"

The Moment Omentarilla finished her chant a strange energy passed between their hands, almost like an electrical current but somehow…cold. Lucy instinctively tried to pull her hand away, her heightened draconic instincts screaming at her to pull away, but whatever energy had passed between them had frozen her body. The energy continued to build, filling the room with a static like energy, before all the strange energy collapsed inward towards their interlinked hands and reality collapsed around them.

And in the place of the small office Lucy now found herself standing in a runined and blackened city, a city that looked remarkably like the golden city she saw after her death but…dead.

The towers that had passed the clouds the first time she was here were now ruined, some collapsed in on themselves while others looked like they had been sheared away by intense heat, ending in jagged points that left Lucy shivering in fright over what could possibly do something like that. The strange blue skied ground was gone as well, replaced by a blackened and charred earth.

It was a world of the dead, a place that Lucy couldn't help but feel nervous about being present in.

"Is this your first time being in the Necropolis?" Omentarilla questioned as she began to move forward, moving in the same direction that Lucy remembered the massive gate being.

"I…honestly don't know. It looks like somewhere I've been before but this world feels dead."

"Yes, I suppose it would seem that way to you. The curse of Solomon turned this land from the golden paradise it once was into…this." She explained as she gestured to their surroundings. "The curse can take many forms, but its purpose is always to keep the unworthy from reaching the truth."

"How did we get here anyway?"

"A union of our birthrights." Omentarilla explained as they reached the base of the gate, the two blondes beginning to climb the many stairs that lead to it. "While my bloodline may have fallen, we were still the caretakers of this realm, and with your power still intact along with my blood right I was able to force open the pathway to this place…wherever this place truly is." She explained as they finally reached their destination, a destination that once again silenced Lucy with just its presence.

The Gate looked remarkably similar to the one she had seen previously, down to the carvings that decorated it, but like the rest of this strange world this gate was also in a state of disrepair. Many of the triangular panels that comprised the door had fallen away, revealing an inky blackness behind them, and the entire structure was covered in cracks, seemingly only seconds away from collapsing in on itself.

"And here we are at the source of all magic." Omentarilla stated with a sense of solemness in her voice, and even the emotionally stunted Lucy was able to pick up on the heavy atmosphere. "And now comes the moment where I require your aid. I have come here often in my life, but no matter what I did I was never able to get the gate to react. So I must ask you to aid me in returning this land to what it was once long ago."

"…And how exactly do I do that?'

"U-uh…well…I honestly don't know." Omentarilla admitted with a nervous laugh, flinching slightly under Lucy's unintentional glare. "My ancestors never recorded any way for us to regain Solomon's favor so…have at it?"

Lucy stared at her counterpart for a moment more, earning herself a pained smile in response, before she sighed and turned back towards the massive gate. The last time she had been here there had been that entity, the Guardian that managed to open the gate for her. Was that same being still somewhere in this dead city? Watching them as its namesake suggested? But if it was, then why hadn't it stepped forward yet when she showed up?

 _This was never my strong suit, even back during my time at the Heartfilia Institute. If Levy, or even Priscilla might be able to help, but without them I doubt that any puzzle that would be required I won't be able to advance._ Lucy thought as she began to pace in front of the gate, trying to see something, anything she could do with her limited deductive reasoning.

But no matter where she looked she couldn't see anything that would help her. And with her newly rediscovered emotions her impatience was only growing worse over time. And when her anger finally reached a boiling point that even Dragon Lucy couldn't reduce she gave in to her more draconic instincts and decided to do what any furious dragon would do.

She struck the gate with as much strength as she could. After all, if her mind couldn't solve this mystery her strength would simply force it.

But the moment her fist made impact with the ancient stone a feeling that could only be described as someone forcing information into her brain assaulted her. Images of things she couldn't understand and magical formulas flashed though her thoughts. She could see a person standing before what could only be described as a rip in reality. She saw a figure standing on a raised platform, an uncountable number of knights bowing before them; she could see dragons, growls escaping from their scaly lips as they regarded the human before them.

The images of another life continued to filter through her brain, each image forcing their way into her mind before vanishing only to be replaced by another a second later. Lucy couldn't help but collapse to her knees as Dragon Lucy tried desperately to fight off the foreign memories but was quickly overwhelmed, her subconscious defender falling silent due to the sheer quantity of information flowing through her brain.

And then the final image presented itself, the same faceless human figure was standing on a desolate hill, a golden staff in one hand and a sword in the other. But the figure wasn't the most interesting aspect of the vision. No, that belonged to the otherworld monstrosity that was escaping from the earth in the distance. Lucy watched in horror as a living cloud consumed everything that it touched. Plumes of fire escaped from its amorphous form while at the same time anything it touched was frozen over and then struck with thunder. And while Lucy wasn't sure why the word was in her head, she knew instinctively what it was.

It was death, the embodiment of chaos itself, the entropy that consumed all in the end.

Lucy's draconic instincts were going haywire, every cell in her body wanted her to turn and flee with reckless abandon, but the only thing she managed to do was whimper in fear. She knew this wasn't something she could fight, not even with the entirety of Fairy Tail standing behind her, and that understanding left her with nothing but despair.

But it was then, in the midst of her despair that something changed in the vision. The human figure, their face somehow hidden by a white light, turned to stare in her direction. But it wasn't just the figure staring off into space, no, Lucy could somehow tell that whoever this was they were staring directly at her…and they were smiling.

"Soon, oh child of thine, but not now. Thou are not prepared to stand here yet." A voice called out, filled with a warm emotion that Lucy couldn't quite identify but an emotion that made her feel what she could only describe as safe, like someone she trusted had wrapped her in their arms and told her everything was going to be ok.

But then the moment was over; the figure vanished, only to be replaced by another whirlwind of images. She saw men slaughtering men, dragons tearing apart other dragons, a white haired man laughing manically to the heavens while a black haired man watched with an almost sorrowful expression all while the world burned around them before everything faded, leaving only a flash of white and eyes of crimson staring at her with a warm emotion that Lucy couldn't identify.

And then it was over, both Lucy and Omentarilla both sitting in the office, Omentarilla looking between confused and horrified while Lucy herself was panting heavily as Dragon Lucy fought to suppress the migraine that was pounding away at her head.

"That was…the gate reacted…it reacted!" Omentarilla shouted out, her previous fear replaced with what could only be described as pure joy. "While it was brief, the moment you came into contact with the door I felt magic flow outward into the world! Perhaps there is hope yet!"

"Mmmm…good for you." Lucy congratulated before becoming serious once again. "But with this you won't hurt my friends or the people of Magnolia right?"

"Of course, I'm a woman of my word as I'm sure you of all people would understand." She said with a laugh, a laugh that fell silent quickly when she saw Lucy's uncomprehending stare. "No, I suppose you don't. But regardless I won't let the people you care for come under attack so long as you are helping me save this world." She said as she stood, smiled, and offered her hand once again. "Well then, Lucy of Fairy Tail, I look forward to working with you."

Lucy stared at her counterpart's outstretched hand for a moment, contemplating the choice of taking her hostage as opposed to going along with her.  _But she gave her word that she would keep the others safe…and if I help her then I might learn more about who exactly this Solomon person was. I'll trust her…for now._ And with her decision made, Lucy reached out for her other self's hand.

Unfortunately, their hands never touched. As right when they were about to reach their agreement a full squad of armed men stormed the room, the other Erza first among them with her spear pointed right at Lucy's throat.

"E-Erza! What is this? What's going on?!" Omentarilla cried out as two of the soldiers moved to stand between her and Lucy, separating the two blondes.

"Orders from his Majesty. The dragon slayers are to be used as fuel for code E.T.D. that includes your opposite here." The Edo-Erza explained before glaring down on the still seated Lucy, who was more than willing to glare back. "Besides, this you is still one of those foolish Fairies, it only makes sense for me to slay her. In fact, I should thank you; you brought me more fairies from another world to toy with."

Lucy's head whipped around to stare wide eyed at her counterpart, her mind freezing up for a brief moment before the emptiness was replaced by pure fury.  _How dare she…HOW DARE…THEY…they tricked me! She never intended to…kill…I'll kill them all for this…once I get the others out._

* * *

Lucy remained silent as she was roughly escorted down the hallway, multiple spears pointed at her back as she took each step. She could hear the other her arguing with the other Erza loudly behind her, but the words meant nothing to her now, her mind so consumed by fury that they might as well be speaking in foreign tongues, her mind was already working on far more important matters.

Like how exactly she was going to escape and make them pay for everything they had done to her and the others. And the part of the hallway she was waiting to make her move on was slowly approaching.

"Erza please, I beg you! Don't do this!" Omentarilla pleaded with the Edo-Erza, the red head remaining unsympathetic.

"I cannot Lucy; these orders came directly from the king himself." The evil Erza declared as she gestured at Lucy. "The dragon slayers are to be our fuel for the plan."

"But code E.T.D is only theoretical! True, I haven't exactly been as successful in my own plans, but to risk our only viable source of everlasting magic for this plan…"

"As I said, this is the king's orders; Byro convinced his Majesty that he could extract their magic, as dragon slayers are not technically human and therefore we are able to extract magic directly from their bodies.

"…that contemptible fool!" Omentarilla cursed, Knightwalker turning to stare at her in surprise. "Erza, at the very least, do not kill them until I return…Lucy!" She called out, the blonde dragon slayer not bothering to turn around. "Please wait for me to return. I promise that I will sort this out and maintain my end of the deal!" And with that the blonde priestess hurried past, disappearing down one of the many corridors.

"…I cannot help but be envious of that girl's naivety." Edo-Erza muttered before Lucy felt something slam into her back, sending the blonde stumbling forward. "She's so honest that I cannot even fault her for believing that any Fairy could be anything but a liar and a thief." Lucy glared back then, seeing a cruel smile on the other Erza's face. "I will enjoy watching the slug of a man rip the magic from your body Fairy."

"…Before this is all over…I will hunt you for this." Lucy threatened darkly, the soldiers around her taking a step back inadvertently due to the bloodlust in the air.

But the Edo-Erza simply sneered down at her before forcing her back to her feet. "Then I'll look forward to that. But for now, you will walk or you will suffer." She declared as they once again began to move down the corridor but that was just what Lucy wanted, as they were coming up on a spot that the blonde slayer made note of the first time she had been escorted through the area. A intersection that had a window with a roof only a few stories down.

A perfect place where she could easily escape out of the window and survive with only a minor amount of broken bones.

 _And…three…two…one…now!_ Lucy counted down as they slowly approached the window and made her move. In one fluid motion, Lucy dropped down and swept her leg out, knocking her unaware guards off their feet to buy herself time before leaping through the air and out the hole in the wall. She couldn't help but smile in satisfaction at the indignant shout of rage the evil Erza released at her escape, but she quickly put aside her amusement in order to focus on ensuring her landing would not break both her legs on impact.

But, much to her shock, Lucy didn't need to worry about landing, as a white blur suddenly descended upon her and wrapped two white fur paws under her arms, lifting her back into the air.

"Honestly, how in the world do you plan to save Wendy and that foolish fire nut if you're leaping out of towers?" Carla chastised as she lifted her back into the air.

"Lucy, sorry I couldn't catch you. I have to carry your metal friend. And she's almost as heavy as you!" Happy called out as he approached, carrying a very concerned looking Artemis in his hands.

"I apologize Master, due to our separation I am unable to fuel my own boosters and carry you myself. I am happy to note however, that due to Master Happy's and Mistresses Carla's aid I have upgraded both my farming and lemonade making subroutines."

"Oh, that's good I guess…but why are you two able to fly now? I thought you couldn't muster the magic to do so in this world?"

"It appears it was simply a mental block that kept us from taking flight." Carla explained, returning upwards to hover just out of reach of the now flustered troops.

"L-lord Exceeds…why have you chosen to grace us with your presence?" The Edo-Erza stuttered out as she motioned for the rank and file soldiers to back away, her grip on her spear tighter than ever.

"The Queen has ordered us to retrieve the dragon slayers and bring her to them for judgment. You shall relinquish them immediately." Carla commanded with a natural level of authority.

"I…I apologize, but I cannot reveal that information at this time. Perhaps…perhaps if the Queen herself was to come down and command-."

"Foolish human, do you not realize who you are speaking with? I am Carla, daughter of Queen Chagot and Princess of Extalia." Carla explained with a look of utter disdain on her face, the gathered soldiers all staring at her in shock. "With a single swish of my tail, I could wipe this city from the face of Edolas." she continued to explain, Lucy blinking slowly in shock and altering her threat assessment of the feline.

"Y-your Greatness! I beg your forgiveness!" Edo-Erza stuttered as she fell to a knee, the masked men behind her following a second later.

"Now then, I believe I asked you to release We-…the other two dragon slayers, but seeing as you cannot even recognize my power I shall relieve you of this duty. Where exactly are they being held?"

"T-The basement of the western tower…but surely you could-."

"Erza! Those two are fallen! Don't believe their lies." A massive cat man, likely an Exceed if Lucy had to guess, called out as he rushed forward, Carla and Happy choosing that moment to fly away.

The four were silent for a moment as they flew thought the many towers before Lucy eventually bowed her head. "I apologize, Princess Carla, I have acted most discourtesy to you in the past and for that I beg for mercy."

"…You aren't angry?" the white cat asked instead, Lucy only tilting her head to the side in incomprehension. "It was our fault that Wendy and Natsu were caught and you were separated. If we hadn't been there…"

"Its fine," Lucy replied normally, the two Exceeds staring at her in surprise. "I don't know why they took you away, but your both part of Fairy Tail. It's only natural that you wouldn't do something to hurt us."

"…! Aye sir!" Happy eventually answered with a large smile on his face, Carla blushing and turning away with a huff. "But wow Carla, you're a princess? Why didn't you ever mention it?"

"…that was a lie obviously. Honestly, you need to be more aware of your surroundings Happy." Carla chastised Happy simply laughing in response.

"Understood, then I will refrain from altering my titles when addressing you Mistress Carla." Artemis declared causing both Happy and Carla sighing in response.

"Lucy, I can't deal with your new friend. She's like you too much!" Happy cried out, Carla nodding in agreement.

"While I don't understand what you're talking about, we should probably head to the West tower like Evil Erza indicated, the two Exceeds nodding and banking in the direction of one of the massive towers. However, before they could get too close, a noise almost like a swarm of insects approached from the rear, Lucy turning around to see what could only be described as a flock of flying cats heading right for them with swords drawn.

"Oh no! It's the royal guard! They followed us from Extalia!" Happy cried out before looking down below. "And the guys we stole you from are down there! Can you do something Lucy?"

"No," Lucy shook her head as she held out her hands. "Whatever this substance is, it actively suppresses my magic…" the blonde trailed off then, her eyes going wide for a moment before an almost predatory grin spread across her face. "But I still have my internal magic."

Lucy then turned to stare at Artemis, the disguised cat staring back expectantly. "Artemis, I order you to use my magic to defeat our pursuers and distract the guards while we launch our rescue mission."

"Understood Master, preparing to receive magical infusion." The Machias answered, Lucy flinching as magic was drained from her first origin and transferred to her mechanical companion. Almost instantly the gray Exceed's body began to emit a white smoke, Happy crying out in surprise and dropping her inadvertently. But Artemis didn't fall, instead the cloud continued to grow until it was roughly human sized before it finally faded away to reveal a very furious looking human sized Artemis, her crimson eyes glaring at the flying cats.

"You; arrogant felines who pursue my Master. You; foolish humans who raise your spears against my Master…your time has come." Artemis declared before a massive, multi barreled, cannon appeared in her hands. A high pitched whining noise echoing through the surroundings as the cannon charged with magical energy. "Heavy Lacrima weapon D-32 Variant; Rapid Stinger!" And with that the cannon unleashed its power, filling the sky with thousands of individual magical shots before the hovering Machias turned its firepower on those down below, many diving out of the way as she targeted what appeared to be weapon emplacements scattered about the walls.

"Lushi! Your metal friend is really scary!" Happy cried out as the two remaining Exceeds swooped down under cover, the remaining weapon emplacements opening fire and filling the sky with blue light.

"Don't worry Happy, unless it's absolutely necessary she won't attack members of Fairy Tail."

"...So taken another way; there could be a situation in which she attacks us?" Carla clarified as they landed and made their way underground, Lucy pausing only to pick up a discarded sword, so that she wasn't absolutely defenseless against further aggressors. "Still, did you two notice? It looked like the weapons out there weren't just attacking Artemis; they were targeting the Exceeds too."

"No way! They started a war?" Happy cried out while Lucy remained silent and alert for nearby foes.

"It's none of our concern. We simply need to worry about getting the others out of here. They can do as they please!"

The three continued to run down various staircases until Lucy noticed a spear flying right for them, the blonde slayer wrapping her still bound arms around the two cats and leaping out of the way of the attack.

"You will go no further, Fallen and Earthland mage." The Edo-Erza stated as she retrieved her spear and grinned at Lucy with a look full of arrogance. "I admit, I didn't imagine I would get a chance to cross swords with you so soon, but so be it. I will capture you myself and extract your magic."

Lucy for her part couldn't help but grin herself, her draconic instincts kicking into overdrive. "Heh…heh, heh…I told you didn't I? That I would make you pay?" Lucy stated before standing back up, her grip on the sword so tight that her skin was growing pale. "Let's see how long you last against this fairy!" And with that Lucy sprung forward at speeds beyond most men. The transfer of magic to Artemis had confirmed something that Lucy had been considering, that even if her magic was bound inside her body, that didn't mean that the Weave couldn't make use of it to fight.

The Edo-Erza hadn't been prepared for the sheer fury of the assault and therefore wasn't able to bring her spear up in time, Lucy kicking her as hard as she could in the stomach, sending the woman flying backwards into one of the many stone walls. Her fellow soldiers attempted to move in and subdue her, but Lucy wasn't about to be contained by men not even worth mentioning compared to those who had trained her in the institute. Everywhere she moved her blade flashed in the dim torchlight, leaving a trail of blood in its wake with every slice.

And throughout it all Lucy's grin only grew. This fighting, this battle without magic, it felt…good, her blood as boiling with excitement over the fact that she was fighting for her life without the aid of her slayer capabilities or her summoning and even with her hands bound, every cell in her body experiencing a sense of joy when someone cried out in pain. If this was what she had been missing when she turned over control to Dragon Lucy on all those missions then she couldn't help but feel a sense of regret for holding back.

"E-Eeekk! Sh-she's a monster!" One of the guards shouted out in fear before falling backwards, Lucy staring at him curiously for a second before shaking her head.

"That's not true, I'm a dragon." She corrected before bringing her sword to bear. "And now you have to pay the price for angering such a being!" and with that, Lucy brought the blade down.

But the blow failed to connect, the soldiers next sentence sending Lucy's mind into shock. "N-no! Please! I don't want to die!"

 _…D…Die? Was I…about to kill him?_ Lucy thought in a panic as the sword slipped from her now lose hands.  _I was…I was about to break Master's rule…I can't control myself…_  Lucy continued to fall into despair, creating an opening that Edo-Erza wasn't about to miss. While Lucy was busy giving in to her shock the crimson haired mage released a bolts of yellow energy, the magic sending the blonde dragon slayer flying backwards with a deep cut across her chest and leaving both Happy and Carla nearly unconscious.

"What a fool you are to lose your calm due to a simple plea for mercy, although I can't say I'm shocked to see such actions from a fairy." She mocked as Lucy tried to struggle back to her feet, the crimson haired woman lifting her spear with the intent to finish the blonde off. However, to the surprise of both women, Happy slowly rose to his feet and stood in front of the wounded blonde and cat, his arms held out and a grim look of determination on his face.

"I won't let you hurt them!" The blue cat challenged, Edo-Erza smiling down at him arrogantly.

"Humph…then you'll be the first to die!" She announced as the yellowish energy gathered along the tip of her spear.

However the attack never landed, as before anyone could do anything a wall of ice appeared in between the two sides. Neither group fully able to comprehend where it had come from. At least, that was the case at first, but when Lucy heard someone start to speak behind her she couldn't help the feeling of relief that washed over her.

"Hey, you lot. You're doing this, knowing full well they're with our guild? Then this makes all of you our enemy…Fairy Tail's enemy!" Gray called out, Erza brandishing her sword as well.

"We do not take kindly to those who would harm our members…even if one of them is me!" She shouted as she rushed forward to meet the spear of her counterpart, Gray releasing a wave of ice at the rank and file troopers before picking up Lucy and Carla and sprinting farther down the hall towards the sounds of Natsu angry cries.

"Geez Lucy never thought they would manage to capture you of all people. Your gonna have to do better if you want to stay on the strongest team." Gray joked as he froze her bindings, Lucy's magical energy exploding out of her at the sudden release.

"I apologize for my ineptitude Gray, but surely we can wait until later to discuss my placement on the team." The blonde apologized, Gray sighing in response.

"I see your time in this world hasn't helped your ability to detect sarcasm."

"But how'd you get here Gray? I thought you were in that Lacrima back up top?" Happy asked, Gray grinning widely before pointing his thumb at the now recovered dragon slayer.

"You can thank Lucy and Gajeel for that. Apparently that lacrima in the town was just Erza and me and they broke us out."

"Huh? How'dya do that Lucy?"

"It was Gajeel, he just hit it a lot and it broke down into Erza and Gray." Lucy explained normally, both Happy and Carla staring at her like she was an idiot.

"Do you honestly expect us to buy that just hitting lacrimas is enough to force them to revert? That sounds like something the fire idiot would try."

"Actually, she's right." Gray corrected with a chuckle. "Apparently dragon slayer magic is super important in this world or something like that. They can use it to fire weapons and, according to Mystogan, it can reverse the effects of the Anima. So all we got to do is figure out where the rest of the lacrima holding everyone is and hit it with a bunch of dragon slayer magic to reverse it."

"Oh, we saw it! It's up in the sky on a floating island right now!" Happy exclaimed excitedly exclaimed, Carla nodding in confirmation as well.

"Wait, seriously? Then do you think you could take Gajeel to it? He's running around up top lookin' for it right now."

"Aye sir!" Happy agreed before pulling out his wings and flew back into the castle.

"Well then Lucy, let's go save your fellow dragon slayers…can't wait to hoard this over Natsu's head for awhile." Gray commanded, the second half of his sentence going over Lucy's head but causing the slayer to nod in agreement.

The three Fairy Tail mages made their way down into the deepest parts of the tunnel before coming face to face with a massive door, a door that Gray wasted no time in kicking open. Once inside the strange crystal filled chamber, Lucy had to actively fight against the fury that threatened to consume her at the sight of her friends. Both Natsu and Wendy had been strung up and were unconscious, the barest traces of magical energy emanating from their bodies.

"Oi, Wendy, Natsu! You two ok?" Gray called out as he gingerly picked up Wendy's pale form, Lucy mirroring his actions with her partner. "…damn, looks like those bastards drained their magic almost to zero.

"Wendy…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry!" Carla cried out as she gently shook her blue haired partners' form, Wendy groaning quietly in response.

"Damn it Natsu! Get up ya lazy bastard! There's enemies of Fairy Tail to fight!" Gray shouted as he moved over to Natsu, taking him from Lucy's grip and shaking him vigorously.

"…while I can't say that I have an extensive knowledge of medical knowledge Gray, I do know that shaking someone isn't a good way to revive them." Lucy growled out darkly, Gray stopping almost instantly to stare at her curiously.

"Lucy…are you actually mad?"

"My dragon slayer magic is loose and it makes it very difficult to control my emotions." Lucy explained as she narrowed her eyes at the ice mage. "And for reasons that I don't understand, I don't like seeing you treat Natsu that way."

"…huh, Mira's gonna love hearing about this when we get back." Gray commented before pulling out a bottle of pink pills. "Let's just give them some of these X-balls."

"X-balls?"

"Some sort of pill thing Gajeel got from Mystogan that lets us use magic here." Gray explained as he dropped the small sphere into the pink haired boy's mouth. "Don't really get why, but apparently it lets us connect with our gate or something like that? Gajeel didn't exactly give the best information and I doubt he was listening all that well when Mystogan told him."

"…Ah, he gave me one of those before I left too." Lucy realized as Natsu suddenly turned over and began coughing heavily, Lucy staring down at him in concern while Gray moved on to give one to Wendy. "Natsu…are you ok?" She asked but received no direct answer. Instead the fire dragon slayer slammed his now enflamed fist onto the ground as he glared up at the door.

"We…we gotta stop them!" He breathed out before launching to his feet and sprinting from the room, all the while shouting incoherently about stopping someone.

"…Gray? Does Natsu also not have any control over his emotional state due to his magic? Because that didn't seem like a normal way to return to consciousness." Lucy questioned as she watched her partners form fade into the distance.

"Nah, that's just Natsu." Gray dismissed as Wendy began to regain cautiousness as well, Carla looking relieved as the bluenette opened her eyes.

"Carla…Lucy…we have to save them!" Wendy weakly repeated, Lucy tilting her head to the side in confusion as she did so.

"What do you mean? Save who?"

"They're in trouble…all the guild members, all of Magnolia…the royal army is planning to destroy Extalia…and they're going to use our friends to do it!" Wendy cried out, all there of her rescuers freezing at her revelation. The young slayer went on to explain that the kingdom planned to use the extracted dragon slayer magic they stole from Wendy and Natsu to accelerate the massive floating lacrima into Extalia, thereby creating a world of everlasting magic in their eyes.

 _But that won't work. Even if the traitor me was lying about the deal. I did see that gate. All they'll do is…kill everyone in Magnolia._ Lucy realized as Gray crossed his arms and scowled.

"Damn…this just keeps getting worse and worse doesn't it?" he thought out loud, and before Lucy could agree with him Natsu sprinted back into the room with a look that Lucy had never seen before on his face. An expression that Lucy could only explain as a mixture between confusion and despair.

"Oh sweet mother of god! There's two Erza's back there!" He shouted as he pointed with a shaking finger back down the hall. "It's the end of the world!" He continued before stopping suddenly and staring at the shirtless ice mage, Gray returning his stare with a glare of his own "…Eh? Gray! When did you get here?"

"Damn, you won't shut up, will you Natsu?" Gray sighed as Wendy squeaked in surprise.

"Ah! IT really is Gray! I just noticed!" Wendy added, Carla looking at her with concern while Gray looked almost defeated.

"Lucy…you might be on to something with that earlier question…in which case I'm praying that you at least get yours back under control."

"I'll try Gray, but I cannot make any promises at this time." Lucy replied, watching in confusion as Gray looked even worse than before. "But that is neither here nor now. We need to stop the Kingdom before they complete their objective."

"Right…If we get that king bastard and make him stop then we win!" Natsu announced as they began to run down the hallway. "L-let's just make sure we don't go the way where the two monsters are fighting."

"Ya, good point. I don't know if I'll ever sleep again if I see two Erza's going at it like that." Gray shivered in agreement as they turned down another path.

"Then…Carla and I will go warn Extalia! Maybe if we can get they're help we can stop the lacrima!" Wendy announced as she and Carla turned and headed down a different path, none of the three mages bothering to call out and stop her. The three mages continued to sprint through the halls of the castle until they came upon a site that caused both Natsu and Gray to come to a halt with mouths open wide while Lucy simply blinked owlishly.

"Seriously? There's an amusement park in the middle of this stupid place? Why the hell would they bother with this?" Gray questioned as many of the rides in front of them came to life, an almost cheery music filling the halls.

"Hmmm…because it's fun of course." A new voice answered, all there turning to see a man in pink armor ridding the carousel and grinning at them. "Is truly enjoyable."

"Sugarboy's right!" Another voice added on, all there mages jumping to the side in order to avoid a ship swinging back and forth, a man with a small wand and a white military outfit riding at the front of said ship. "All this awesomely cool magic is just gonna vanish from this world. Do you know how that makes us feel? We'll get our everlasting magic power no matter what. And we won't let anyone get in our way!" The man announced as he swung his golden wand through the air, the ship flying away from its bindings and barreling straight towards them.

But Lucy wasn't about to be done in by such a basic attack. "… **Chaos Dragon's Disintegration Orb.** " She chanted dispassionately, and orb of pure ethernano blooming into life on her palm before she tossed it at the wooden vessel, the ship exploding into a shower of shrapnel the moment it was struck.

"Whoa! This chick has some crazy cool magic! Too bad it won't make a difference here!"

"Hmmm…don't underestimate our foes too much Hughes. This reverse Lucy did fight on par with our Lucy and Knightwalker after all." The man named Sugarboy warned as he remained sitting on his carousel horse despite the fact that there was no carousel anymore.

"Don't underestimate us ya bastard! Give us back our friends!" Natsu shouted as he leapt up at Hughes, landing a solid punch on his face and sending him spinning back down to earth.

But the man named Hughes wasn't done yet. "Friends? Ha, they're just going to mix with Extalia's magic and become our source of everlasting power. No way are we handing them over!" He announced as he swung his wand through the air, the cart of a nearby ride suddenly changing directions hand heading straight for the pink haired slayer.

"Natsu! Behind you!" Lucy warned as she crouched down, ready to pounce at the man she perceived to be controlling the strange magic. But before she could get a foot off the ground said ground suddenly began to suck her in, Gray finding himself in a similar situation.

And with both of them distracted Natsu was powerless as he was captured by one of the carts, an attack that the man called the Hell Coaster, and began to succumb to his fatal weakness; motion sickness.

"Shit! Natsu's in a tough spot…Lucy! You gotta go help him! I'll take care of this clown!" Gray announced as he first gestured to the still spiraling coaster before pointing at the man known as Sugarboy.

"No way in hell Gray." Lucy growled out angrily, surprising them both at her tone. "I won't go near that thing, not even for Natsu."

"But…oh right, motion sickness." Gray realized with a sigh as he created a pair of chains to pull themselves out of the liquid floor. "Then what the hell are we gonna do about that?"

Lucy didn't bother to stare at her black haired teammate as she began to prepare her magic. "I understand that you haven't exactly seen me use this magic Gray, but you shouldn't underestimate the most powerful weapon of the Heartfilia institute." She announced as she continued to watch the cart. For her, tracking the path of the cart was a simple matter, as the man only continued to cause it to go around in circles, her dragonically enhanced mind easily predicting its course.

And when the time was right, she sucked in a deep breath, drawing in all the magic she could. " **Chaos Dragon's Roar!** " She shouted, sending her attack screaming through the atmosphere where it hit the front of the cart and caused it to explode, sending the still nauseous dragon slayer down into a nearby building while the beam sliced cleanly though the ceiling.

"…Damn Lucy that was cold. Natsu could've died from falling like that."

"What are you talking about Gray? Falling at those speeds is nothing compared to a blow from Erza." Lucy refuted as she jumped back down onto the ground. "I will go to help him now; you can deal with this one right?" Lucy confirmed, Gray grinning confidently as he smacked his fists against each other.

"Do ya even need to ask? Leave this bastard to me!" He confirmed, Lucy nodding in response before running off in direction of Natsu's impact site. The blonde continued to run through the now occasionally shuddering amusement park, relying on her enhanced smell to guide her, before happening upon a site that she wasn't expecting.

There lying down on the ground with incredibly wounded feet, was a young brown haired girl and an old man who appeared to be attacking her.

"Coco! Give me the key right this second or you will suffer more than you would have thought possible!" The old man threatened.

 _I don't know what they're doing here, but I can't simply abandon someone in this situation. Master would be disappointed in me._ Lucy decided as she used her previous training to silently approach the short man and, with only the slicing of the air to announce her presence, slammed the man's face into the pavement, knocking him out instantly.

The young brown haired girl screamed in surprise at first, but when she saw Lucy's face tears instantly began to escape from the corners of her eyes. "M-miss Lucy! I'm so glad I found you! IF there's anyone who can stop them it's you!"

"…I'm sorry?" Lucy questioned in confusion, not understanding how this stranger knew her name.

"Please, you have to keep this key safe! The King and Byro are going to use it to launch the Dragon Chain Cannon at the Earthland lacrima!" The girl named Coco continued to plead as she held out a massive, ornate key.

Lucy for her part froze at the mention of both dragons and the lacrima, her eyes resting on the key as her combat enhanced mind fought desperately to figure out the situation.  _Is this a trap? And if it was, why would they need to trap us at this point? They already have Natsu's and Wendy's magic after all. And if it's not, then will this stop them...regardless, I need to secure this key on the off chance she's telling the truth._ Lucy decided as she reached out for the strange object.

However, she was stopped when a golden barrier appeared in between them.

"Coco, I understand your confusion, but it kind of hurts to think that you would confuse me with my other." A voice that Lucy recognized all too easily called out sadly, the ringing of her staff announcing the presence of the one person Lucy did not want to see again. "…You have been busy Lucy of Fairy Tail. Freeing your friends and fighting against the kingdom. But I cannot allow you to continue."

"… Even now you continue to betray Fairy Tail? I thought you were going to stop your king in exchange for my existence?" Lucy growled out as she attempted to keep her emotions under control. Not wanting to engage her double if she could help it, especially if their objective was so close.

Omentarilla visibly flinched at the accusation before setting her expression into one of grim determination. "While you may not believe a word I say now, I did indeed plead with the king to stop his foolish plan. But I cannot oppose his decision at this point. I simply lack the strength to oppose an enter kingdom." She sadly explained as she readied her staff, the ringing of which sounded somehow foreboding. "And now I am left with only one choice…to capture you at all costs and make use of the new source of magic to save this world!" She shouted as she spun the staff around like she same an exotic dancer before pointing it at Lucy, her instincts screaming to her of approaching danger.

With only a second to move, Lucy leapt backwards with all of her strength. And not a moment too soon, as the place she had been standing in was crushed under a much thicker, and much brighter shield, the pavement underneath the barrier collapsing down a few feet.

_She's stronger that before! Was she…_

"That's right Lucy, before I was simply attempting to apprehend you without harming you too badly. But now…so long as your life is intact I do not care what shape you are in!" Omentarilla confirmed as she continued to spin the staff, more barriers appearing in the air and on her sides, each one attempting to crush her into the floor or into the walls.

But Lucy wasn't simply waiting to be crushed like an ant. She moved, acting only on instinct, to dodge each and every blow, and those she could not move out of the way she simply used her dragon slayer magic in order to divert them. But Omentarilla hadn't been lying when she said she had been holding back. Even using her Chaos Dragon's Rending Fists she was only able to alter their courses slightly, each of the reinforced barriers moving to crush her like a bug.

 _She's not going to give me a chance to get in close…in that case; I'll simply hit her with my arrows._ Lucy decided as she drew her bow and aimed it squarely at her opposite.

"Do not belittle our intelligence Lucy, we both know that if your magic was incapable of penetrating my barriers then a simple arrow will be useless against me."

"…who ever said it was a normal arrow?" Lucy questioned back, drawing the bowstring and let loose a pale arrow.

Of course Omentarilla wasn't about to let an arrow hit her, putting up a barrier long before the arrow could hit directly. But that was exactly what Lucy wanted. The moment the arrow touched the transparent barrier sparks flew through the air as the special aspect of the arrows took effect, Omentarilla clutching at her chest at the feedback that assaulted her.

"Wha…what did you do?"

"It's the power of my weapon." Lucy explained as she pulled the string back again, another pale arrow appearing knocked and ready to fly. "These arrows don't attack the physical, they attack magic. And without a large amount of magical energy flowing thought your body it won't take long before you can no longer move."

"I see…then I suppose I should deal with your weapon first and foremost." She declared as she held the staff over her head, the entire shaft of the weapon beginning to glow with a bright white light. "This Staff of The Flowing Heavens has a truly remarkable ability when you think about it."

"…What are you talking about?" Lucy returned as she continued to fire off arrows, her counterpart dancing out of the way of each shot as opposed to dodging them as she had before.

"My weapon and its ability to create barriers of course. You see, most would only think to use it shields to defend themselves when, in actuality, its abilities are actually quite diverse. You see, when it creates a barrier between spaces it actually divides space to do so…so what do you think would happen if a barrier was created in the center of an object?" she in an almost innocent tone of voice, a tone that was completely lost on Lucy while the implications of the question were not.

The blonde dragon slayer attempted to leap to the side; to avoid the attack that was inevitably coming, but just wasn't fast enough in the end. The horizontal barrier her opposite conjured sliced clean through her bow and her right side, leaving a paper thin but deep jut on her stomach, the blood already flowing down her leg.

"Impressive right? I have all this power…yet I can't even save those I care about!" Edo-Lucy shouted, her voice becoming more strained as she went on. "All I can do with it is force you to your knees, even if that means I will bare your hatred as well!" She finished as she began to create more and more barriers around her, mixing in her attacks as well.

Lucy couldn't help but growl in fury as she continued to try and dodge her opposite's attacks, her own movements becoming more dull due to both blood loss and the Weave stealing more of her magic to keep the wound on her stomach from becoming a liability. A small part of her mind couldn't help but begrudgingly applaud her opposite for targeting her weapon with a then unknown attack, but the much louder part of her mind could only feel annoyance. Despite herself, Lucy did have a slight attachment to her magical bow, as archery was one of the few things in her life that she had developed herself as opposed to being imprinted with the knowledge…and now her weapon was gone.

 _And with the magic lost to the Weave, my attacks barely have enough magic in them to dent her barriers…do I have no choice but to try and force more through the seal?_ Lucy couldn't help but think as she was struck unaware by a barrier behind her, sending her flying through a house of mirrors. With the seal weakened, it was theoretically possible to force more of her draconic power out, revealing her other side in all its terrifying glory, but to do so she might suffer the same level of feedback that she did during the Phantom war, a level of stiffness that she could hardly afford in enemy territory. But Omentarilla clearly wasn't holding anything back at this point, and without a weapon to fight with or elementals to call on Lucy was running out of options.

"This is the end, me! Now… **Prism of Solitude!** " Edo-Lucy shouted as she slammed the end of her staff into the ground, creating a barrier in every direction that Lucy could see, each one moving inward to crush her.

 _No choice, I have to use that form!_ Lucy finally decided, preparing to unleash the side of her that she feared more than anything.

"Geez Princess, while I enjoy coming to your rescue, I would prefer it if you didn't have to make it so difficult to get to you. I mean, another world, really?" A voice Lucy hadn't been expecting called out, a pair of strong arms lifting her into the air as light enveloped them for a brief moment, the blondes surroundings shifting slightly as they appeared outside the barrier.

"Loke…but how?" Lucy muttered as her faithful light spirit placed her gently back down, his white armor shining in the florescent light of the amusement park.

"I told you didn't I? I will always be there if you are in danger. I am your knight after all." The light elemental said with a chuckle before his face turned serious. "Or that's what I would like to do, but I'm currently breaking a whole bunch of laws to be here and can't stay long. I just came to give you this." He continued as he held out his hand, a beautifully carved cylinder in his hands. The strange object had carvings of each element etched into its handle and almost gave off an air of solemness, like by holding it one was destined to a fate different from their fellow man. "This is a weapon entrusted to the Elemental Lords long ago by…a friend of theirs, and now it's being entrusted to you."

"But I don't-." Lucy tried to argue but Loke gently grabbed her wrist and placed the carved cylinder into her palm, a strange tingling sensation passing through her body the moment it came into contact with her.

"Don't worry Lucy, you've got this." The light elemental encouraged as his body began to fade. "We'll be rooting for you back home!" And with that he vanished, leaving both blondes and the still resting Coco utterly confused.

"… I was not aware that you could create life from nothingness…you Earthland mages are truly terrifying indeed." Omentarilla commented with a shudder before preparing her staff once again. "But I will not be denied!" and with that the battle began once again, Lucy still trying to dodge while all but glaring down at her new equipment. She had tried everything she could think of to activate it; from applying pressure in any area she could think of to shaking it, but no matter what she did she couldn't get the strange thing to work.

 _Damn…If only I had my bow-._ Lucy started to curse when, out of nowhere, the strange object began to glow with a bright white light out of both ends, both Lucy's shouting out in surprise at the unexpected illumination. Lucy watched in shock as the light began to take shape, the two founts of light forming a half circle shape that was connected by a thin white line, a shape that Lucy was more than familiar with.

There was now a bow of white light in Lucy's hands, the object humming with barely repressed power.

 _I-it transformed into a bow? Then does that mean…_ Lucy thought in shock before trying to experiment, her thoughts transforming the bow into a glowing dagger as the blonde dragon slayer thought of a more compact weapon.  _It changes with my thoughts, and its feeding off my magic…interesting._ Lucy concluded as a feral grin slowly formed on her lips, a grin that caused her opposite to pale slightly and take a step back.

"I-it doesn't matter how many weapons you have, or how terrifying you are, I can't allow you to win this. For the sake of my friends!" she shouted

But Lucy wasn't about to let her other get the better of her any more. Acting an understanding that she didn't know how she obtained but didn't feel like questioning, Lucy drew back the string of light, feeling the drain on her magic almost instantly but not so badly that she would fall unconscious immediately. The strange weapon seemed to be functioning in the same way that Lucy's unison raid arrows did earlier, merging Lucy's own magic with its arrow, and if it the arrow on her bow now held the power of chaos dragon slaying then just maybe…

And making up her mind, Lucy poured all the magic she could into the arrow, the once white arrow transforming into a crackling blue arrow with the arrowhead being replaced by a roaring dragon head.

And with one more feral laugh, Lucy released her arrow; the roaring dragon head enlarging as it moved away from her and barreled right for her opposite. Of course Omentarilla wasn't about to let the attack strike her, placing barrier after barrier in the way of her arrow, but her previous shots were nothing compared to the raw power that was now flying across the amusement park. Every barrier that found itself to be unfortunate enough to be in the arrows path were shattered without mercy, the fangs of the draconic arrowhead tearing though everything in its path and adding the scattered remains to its own mass, the arrowhead growing in size with every golden wall it shattered, its power releasing an almost draconic roar as it passed over and detonated with more force than even Lucy intended.

As the smoke cleared Lucy could see her opposite now sprawled out on the floor, breathing heavily and clearly unable to move. And while Lucy may have ended up with the victory, her new weapon hadn't exactly left her in the best condition either, as the blonde dragon slayer was currently bent over, her hands on her knees as she too tried to get her breathing under control while also prepared for whatever her opposite was going to throw at her next.

Although that concern turned out to be unneeded, as tears began to leak from Omentarilla's eyes and sobs wracked her body. "No…n-no! I failed them…everyone…N-Natsu…I'm sorry."

Lucy couldn't help but blink slowly as she studied the other her with confusion. Here she was, the victor, but she couldn't help but feel like she was the one at fault.

And so, relying on an instinctive understanding of what the others would do in such a situation, Lucy approached her opposite and sat down next to her. "…you really did do all this for Fairy Tail?" She tried to confirm, receiving only a nod in response. "…then you're just as dumb as I am." She decided with a scoff, Omentarilla turning to stare at her with wide, tear filled eyes.

"I…I'm sorry?"

"Why wouldn't you talk to Fairy Tail about this? Why didn't you trust them to help you?" Lucy accused her fellow blonde staring at her in confusion for a brief second before glaring back.

"You know why! The-there was no way they could help me with.-"

"That's a lie, and we both know it." Lucy interrupted, a frown of frustration on her face over the fact that her opposite couldn't understand. "They're Fairy Tail, they can do anything."

Omentarilla bit the inside of her lip, staring at anything she could besides the slightly pissed off slayer above her. "You're wrong! Not even the Master had the expertise to help me with the gate. There was nothing they could do…"

"Did you ever try?" Lucy asked simply, Omentarilla staring at her in shock as she did so. "Did you ever bring up the problem the world was facing? To even see if they had something they can do?" she continued, shaking her head before her opposite could get a word in. "No, you didn't you tried to solve it yourself, to put the entire burden on your shoulders. And I know you did…because that's what I would do too."

Lucy smiled sadly then, staring up at the dark ceiling overhead. "Since the first day I became aware of what I was, I only had my own strength to rely on. I fought for others, but never with others." But when she looked back down at her opposite, her smile was filled with warmth that even she didn't fully understand. "But then I met Natsu, Erza, Gray, and everyone at Fairy Tail. And no matter what trouble I brought to them, no matter the fight, they helped me shoulder those burdens…they gave me a home."

"So don't you think that your Fairy Tail could do the same for you? After all, I can't imagine Fairy Tail is that different no matter what world it's in?"

Omentarilla didn't immediately respond, leaving only the sound of Natsu's flames to fill the void, before sighing heavily and covering her eyes with her right arm. "…Honestly, I thought that I at least was more mature than you were, since you were clearly stronger than me, but it looks like you're just the superior Lucy all around."

"…I fail to see how the obvious would make me inherently superior, but thank you for the compliment nonetheless." Lucy returned, Omentarilla giggling lightly in response.

"Right…Coco? I think you should give Miss Lucy here the key." Lucy's opposite gently commanded, the brown haired girl sucking in a startled breath in response.

"Key?"

"The key to the Dragon Chain Cannon. A weapon that you can use to reverse the lacrimacation of your friends." Omentarilla explained, Lucy blinking slowly before turning to the younger girl with a new predatory look in her eyes.

"…Hand it over."

"Y-yes! Of course, Princess! Just don't hurt me!" Coco yelped as she held out the strangely shaped key, Lucy grateful but not fully understanding why a girl from another world would suddenly decide that she was royalty.

But before Lucy could grab hold of the key Sugarboy intervened, sliding past and snatching it from the shocked brown haired girl's hand.

"Hmmm…you shouldn't do that Coco. This isn't something you should be giving to strangers." The man chastised as he skidded away leaving all three women confounded at his sudden appearance and subsequent disappearance, followed closely by Gray on some sort of motorbike and Natsu who was running past before noticing Lucy and stopped.

"Oi Luce, what'cha doing sitting around here? We gotta go after that other kingdom bastard so get up and lets..." Natsu trailed off as he notice who exactly Lucy was kneeling next to, his mouth hanging open as he tried to make sense of the situation. "…holy mother of…why are there two Luce's here! Did I finally lose it! Was Gray right?" Natsu started to scream in panic as he ran in circles.

"Y-your Natsu is quite excitable, isn't he?" Omentarilla commented quietly, her cheeks turning pink for reasons that Lucy couldn't quite understand but didn't care about right then and there.

"Natsu, focus." Lucy growled out, her deadly serious tone pouring a bucket of ice water over her partners mind. "You need to get that key; we can use it to transform the others back. I'll join you when I've recovered."

"Wait, what? What the hell does that mean?"

"I'll explain it later; now go help Gray, Now!" Lucy all but shouted, Natsu freezing up for a moment before reply with an "Aye sir!" and sprinting off into the distance.  _Looks like that method of commanding Natsu worked out just like Erza said it would, I should test it on Gray as well._

The three women were silent for a moment, the only sound being Natsu's slowly fading war cry, but eventually Coco decided to swallow her nervousness and speak up. "P-Princess…are you really going to stop the Dragon Chain Cannon?" She asked, a look of determination on her face when Lucy nodded at her. "Then after you've recovered could you come with me? I have a Legion that I'm sure can help us."

"…Legion?"

* * *

Natsu couldn't help but grin widely as all the little Happy's flew though the air around them in celebration, the massive island that was barreling down on them only moments ago having vanished into thin air and, according to Mystogan, meaning that their family were all back in Magnolia none the wiser.

If he was being honest with himself, Natsu had been terrified when the Edo-Erza had interrupted their master plan of using the king to free their friends, but when Lucy rode in like some freaky goddess of war on the back of the massive…thingy, Natsu couldn't help but grin at how cool she looked.

Of course, just because she had the thing didn't mean that they were in the clear, and it was only though the combined efforts of all of Fairy Tail's unlacrimaed members and all the flying cats to stop the massive crystal from striking the island, only just barely stopping it in time. And that's when Mystogan showed up, explaining that they had won.

"Lily, you once saved my life." Mystogan started, removing his hood as he smiled down at the oversized Exceed. "I'm glad I could return the favor and defend your homeland."

"Yes. Thank you…Prince." PantherLily responded, but the celebration was cut short when a beam of magical energy sliced clean thought the black cats shoulder, sending him spiraling down to the ground while a whole bunch of Legions rose in his place.

"This isn't over! We; the aerial division of the kingdom will carry out our kings will!" Knightwalker shouted as she pointed her spear at Erza, Mystogan moving his white Legion between the two to glare down at her.

"You would dare point your blade at me, the royal prince of Edolas, Erza Knightwalker? You forget your place!" Mystogan challenged, and for a second it looked like they would back down.

Or it did before the crazy old king dude's laughter started to echo though the sky.

"Prince, you say? Don't make me laugh! I do not consider you my son at all! You have some nerve, running off for seven years and disrupting our plans only to waltz right back. I am well aware that you were in Earthland, closing off all the Animas." The king continued as the ground began to glow with a strange light. "You have signed your death warrant. This will not be a fight, but a retribution of all those who would oppose my Edolas!"

Natsu watched in shock as a massive egg shaped thingy rose from the ground, the chains that bound it snapping away to reveal what he, and the other three dragon slayer present, easily identified.

"T-that's a metal dragon down there!" He shouted, Wendy crying out in shock while Lucy and Gajeel growled under their breaths.

"Dorma Anim…you would go that far father?" Mystogan all but shouted in shock as the mechanical dragons mouth opened to reveal a massive cannon.

"Go, my loyal soldiers of Edolas. Capture the Exceeds and put the traitors to death!" The king commanded, the Legions beginning to move in response to his commands.

Natsu watched as Mystogan attempted to combat the strange magic armor that looked like a dragon, but when it turned out that he wasn't strong enough to defeat it he made his decision, a decision that he was sure the others had reached as well.

"Oi Happy, drop me off down there. I've got a dragon to beat!" Natsu asked with a grin, Happy staring down at him for a moment before smiling widely.

"Aye sir!" He replied, letting Natsu fall directly on top of the metal beast with his fists already covered in flames, Gajeel, Lucy, and Wendy following up with their own attacks immediately after.

"Oh, pretty good there Wendy." Natsu complemented as he smacked his fist into his waiting palm, Wendy glaring up at the massive creature with a determined expression.

"No. in terms of damage you three inflected much more than I did."

"True, but just inflicting wounds isn't the only important factor in combat. Forcing the enemy to retreat is just as important." Lucy refuted as she too glared, Gajeel only muttering something about a cat of his so Natsu didn't really pay all that much attention to him.

"I see, so it's you lot…damnable dragon slayers! I'll capture you and use you as fuel for my kingdom until your bodies give out!" The king shouted as the metal dragon roared.

"…I will give the three of you support! O swift winds that speed though the heavens!  **Vernier!** " Wendy chanted, Natsu's body growing lighter all of the sudden and allowing him to speed out of the way of the dragons cannon blast. The three practically flew though the air, each one aiming their various attacks at the machines head in order to incapacitate it.

"Damn! How the hell is it so hard? What the hell kinda metal is that?" Gajeel cursed as they continued to speed around the ruins, each one having noticed the only bare amount of damage they managed to inflict.

"Likely something extremely rare considering how terrified the locals were of it." Lucy growled back as she swiped at the Dorma Anim's chest, leaving a thin scratch in her wake.

"In that case…The stalwart might to cleave the heavens!  **Arms**!" Wendy continued to enchant, a new magic wrapping around Natsu's fist as her chant finished.

"I see, so this is what it's like to work with an enchanter. It's certainly very different then what I'm used to." Lucy muttered as a feral grin worked its way across her lips, the blonde slayer leaping back in and striking the metal dragon with much more strength than before.

"Don't take all the fun Luce! Save some for us too!" Natsu shouted out as he leapt into the air. " **Fire Dragons Iron Fist!** "

"Damn you! It's all because of that girl isn't it…Dragon Rider Missiles, launch!" The king shouted out as a stream of magic launched from the machines tail straight at Wendy. And while the youngest dragon slayer tried to escape, the debris that surrounded her barred her way by tripping her.

"Oh no ya don't!" Natsu shouted as he rushed over to the blunnettes side, striking the missiles out of midair until two detonated, surrounding him in flames. He could hear the old bastard of a king laughing to himself outside of the fire, saying somethin' about how they needed to learn their place. But Natsu was too busy enjoying his free meal to care.

"Man, that was some nasty tastin' flames. But at least I'm feeling all reenergized now!" He shouted, Gajeel shouting the same thing at the same time causing the two to glare at each other.

"Are we purposely trying to harmonize? Should I say something with Wendy?" Lucy asked as she leapt over to them. Wendy giggling at the blonde.

"No thank you Lucy. I appreciate the offer though."

"Ya Luce, if anything you should be trying that harmonizing thingy with me! We're partners after all! But still, this bastard really is tough to take down. It really lives up to its dragon name!"

"Heh, don't be stupid Salamander, this piece of junk ain't no dragon!"

"He must be very overconfident since he has no guards with him despite the fact that he's king." Wendy added as she readied herself for the next round.

"And overconfidence is a weakness we can easily exploit." Lucy commented as blue static pulsed between her fingers in preparation.

But before anyone could make a move something strange started to happen, as all the magic in the surrounding air began to flow directly into the Dorma Anim. Its body glowing with a creepy purple light.

"Now is the time for you four to see the true terror of the Dorma Anim: Black Heaven!" The king shouted as the metal dragon transformed into a more humanoid appearance, the magic power coming off of it nothing like how it was only a few seconds ago. "Prepare yourselves!" The crazy king shouted as he rushed forward and slammed one of his now lance covered arms into the ground, sending them all flying like leaves in a twister.

Natsu tried to counter attack, launching off the wall he hit and rebounding back at the black metal bastard, but the metal knight didn't even budge under his fist and quickly swatted him away.

"No way, not even the Arms enchant was enough!" Gajeel cursed as the dragon knight raised one of its massive spears over its head, the lance beginning to glow with a baneful purple light.

"Can you feel it? This absolute magic power! It's spectacular! Now, know fear dragon wizards!" He shouted as he slammed his spear into the ground, enveloping the entire arena in a massive attack that nearly knocked the fire dragon unconscious.

"Natsu, Wendy, Gajeel! How dare you…HOW DARE YOU!" Natsu hear Lucy scream as she rushed forward and wrapped her hands with blue energy. But the knight still didn't care, slamming her with a metal fist and sending her flying through one of the walls.

"Ha ha! You dragon slayers truly are pathetic, you have no chance of winning!"

"…Everyone's suffering 'cause there's no magic power…so how the hell do you have so much to throw around? Glaring at the metallic figure.

"Ha, it's only natural for a king to impose a tax on his people! Besides, now that I have activated the Dorma Anim, which continuously drains the worlds magic, I am duty bound to win.

"Yea right." Wendy scoffed as Gajeel too glared up at their foe.

"You got some guts saying that after swipin' everyone's magic power!"

"We joined a guild so we could live…and that's exactly what you're standing in the way of right now! So for the sake of everyone living in this world, we will defeat you!" Natsu shouted as the three of them, minus Lucy, rushed back in only to be swatted away by its overwhelming power once again.

"What foolishness! You four will be nothing more than sources of magic for my kingdom! Now submit and become our fuel!" he screamed and launched yet another attack that sent them all flying away once again.

No matter what they tried, the four of them simply couldn't manage to dent its tough exterior, and with every second that passed the armors power continued to grow, leaving all four slayers down for the count before long.

"Yes, this is how it should be! Now fall and become our fuel!"

 _To hell with that_  Natsu growled to himself as he struggled to rise, the grunting noises behind him letting him know that the others were trying to get back up as well.

"Oh? You still have the strength to stand? Commendable, but pointless!" the king shouted as magic energy gathered underneath them for a brief moment before it detonated and sent each slayer flying though the air.

"Salamander…Bunny Girl…pipsqueak, use your breaths!" Gajeel forced out, pain and effort clear in his voice.

"A-all four of us at the same time?" Wendy confirmed as they rose back to their feet.

"I wanted to hold back 'cause there's no telling what it'll do…but we got no choice now!" he finished as he began to suck in a massive breath.

" **Fire Dragon's…" "Sky Dragon's…" "Iron Dragon's…" "Chaos Dragon's…"**

 **"ROAR!"** They finished, their attacks each flying at the metal bastard and causing an explosion so large that it split the clouds above.

"Heh, got 'im" Gajeel bragged as the smoke began to clear, leaving no trace of the armor behind.

"…! No! Above us!" Lucy screamed, all four slayers turning their eyes skyward to see the massive armor flying back down at them only to release another saturation attack, Natsu being sent flying away to the sounds of both Lucy and Wendy crying out in pain.

"This is bad…our magic power." Gajeel cursed out as the armor simply watched them.

"Oh? Have you run out of energy? Then simply submit and become my magic power. I'm even willing to reward you for your contribution to my kingdom." The king continued, only adding to Natsu's desire to win.

"Hell no! I'm not givin' up cause' I'm standing right here!" Natsu shouted as he forced his legs back up and glared up at the monster armor. "Give me your best shot, Damn it!"

"Very well then! I'll simply crush you underfoot!" The king declared as he slammed down one of the Dorma Anim's massive talons, Natsu just barely able to hold it off.

"You're a damn idiot Salamander! You don't have the magic power to hold that thing off for long!" Natsu heard Metal head yell out from his spot on the ground.

"Natsu…we don't have the strength to win. There's just not enough magic." Lucy cried out in frustration, both her words and her tone sending a new batch of fury through Natsu's veins. He always hated to hear her like that, even if he couldn't figure out why, and that fury only added to his desire to win.

"Then I'll scrape some together…from tomorrows magic, from the next day too!" Natsu shouted as he managed to throw the armor backwards, the massive metallic man falling down with enough force to shake the ground. "Don't you dare underestimate dragon slayers!"

"Know your place you filth!" the king screamed as he once again detonated magic underneath Natsu's feet, sending him flying through the air yet again.

But apparently that was just the opportunity that Gajeel was waiting for, as the iron dragon slayer quickly moved in to bind the knight's foot. "Salamander! Finish it! It's up to you now!" The black haired man shouted, and Natsu wasn't about to let the opportunity pass, the crazy plan in his head just the thing they needed to finish this.

 _This is gonna hurt._ "Wendy! Luce! Hit me with your roars!" He shouted, both women staring at him like he had lost it. "Stand up, fight!" He shouted again, apparently getting through to them. Both standing and linking their right hands as their magic energy began to combine, neither looking like they were aware of the power that was now flowing between them.

" **Sky Dragon's…" "Chaos Dragon's…"**

 **"Roar!"**  The both chanted, their roars spiraling together to form one massive twister of magic.

The moment the turbulent energies collided with Natsu he felt like he was going to be ripped in two, their combined force almost too much for him to handle.  _To hell with that! This is the only chance I've got. Like hell I'm gonna fail everyone!_ And after mustering as much concentration he could, he finally managed to synchronize his own rotation with that of the breaths.

" **Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!** " he shouted as he shot forward with more speed than he thought possible, so much so that he could barely make out his surroundings.

And then it was over, his hand gripping the king's robe after drilling though the entire armor. The old bastard having fainted while the machine detonated thus signaling the end of the battle.

"Hell ya! We got their king! Isn't this, ah what's the word for it, a "checkmate"?" Natsu celebrated.

"Heh, heh…that's what you say before you take the king." Wendy giggled; even Gajeel was smiling as they took a moment to breath.

"Ge hi, what a dumbass."

"I see, so that's the term used in chess. I will have to remember that." Lucy muttered.

But the celebration was cut short when the four noticed that the islands floating in the sky were beginning to fall.

"Oh no! What's happening now?" Wendy cried out.

"Donno, but count me out if we have to fight someone else, I'm tired enough as it is." The iron dragon slayer commented as golden trails of energy began to escape from the ground and into the sky.

"This is…magic power? Where is it going?" Lucy commented absentmindedly as she ran a hand through one of the many streams.

"Th-this is the Prince's decision." A new voice called out, all four dragon slayers turning to see a small black Exceed approaching while pumping his fist.

"…an Exceed? Are you here to fight?" Lucy questioned in a cold tone, the black cat quickly shaking his head.

"N-no…but I do have a request for you four…please…please play the villains for the prince."

"What the hell are you talkin' about?"

* * *

Natsu couldn't help but grin widely as they floated up into the sky, their group being forcibly expelled from Edolas for having magic in their bodies. Sure, he was kinda upset over leaving Mystogan behind, but he had given the bastard a good old Fairy Tail farewell so at least there was that. Hell, the whole being the bad guy thing was pretty cool too, although Lucy's evil laugh was a little too on the mark for Natsu's taste.

_I mean, yea, I did ask her to act that way but still…I feel like that was a little too on the money but…eh, who cares, it all turned out well in the end._

"Is something wrong Natsu? You look strange." Lucy commented as she hovered next to the pink haired dragon slayer.

"What are you talking about Luce; no one is stranger than you after all." Natsu joked, enjoying the warm feeling in his chest when the blonde began to pout. "Ah, don't do that Luce, I'm just messin' with ya."

"Oh, I see. Then I just missed the joke like I normally do. I understand."

"Ya…sure, but seriously Luce, you were super cool with all your dragon slaying magic. It's a shame about that whole seal thing." The pinknette commented thoughtlessly, immediately regretting it when Lucy' flinched almost like she was struck. "S-sorry Luce, I d-didn't mean…"

"No, I understand Natsu…maybe…maybe one day I'll have the seal removed." The blonde eventually managed to force out, her brown eyes shimmering as she stared into Natsu's own. "Will you…will you help me reach that point Natsu? Will you stay with me?"

Natsu blinked in surprise before rubbing the back of his neck and grinning even wider, his cheeks heating up as he stared into the emotional eyes of his partner. "You bettcha Luce! We're partners after all. I'll never abandon you so long as I can help it!"


	23. Chapter 23

Lucy couldn't help but sigh heavily as she tried to focus on her magic. Their groups return to Earthland was certainly more eventful than the exhausted Dragon slayer had expected. They hadn't even been home for more than a few minutes before they were confronted by the Exceeds, the flying felines having also been ejected from Edolas after the Anima returned them to their home, Gajeel had gotten emotional over a black Exceed that had approached them, claiming it was his cat.

But those weren't even the strangest things to occur only minutes after returning, as the black cat, Pantherlily, had captured a woman that everyone else from Fairy Tail besides Wendy knew. Lisanna, the previously thought to be dead sister of Elfman and Mirajane, who had apparently wound up in Edolas due to some complication in the Anima spell.

Natsu and Happy had been beside themselves when she had shown up, both mages throwing themselves at the white haired girl the moment she confirmed that she was "Their" Lisanna, whatever that meant, and after reuniting her with her brother and sister they brought her to the guild, which had promptly exploded into a whirlwind of activity.

And while Lucy wasn't really someone who enjoyed loud noises and high energy situations she did try to force herself to be a part of the welcome back party for Lisanna but after a few days of so much activity she had to have some time to herself.

 _…no, that's a lie. It's because I can't face them right now that I needed time to myself._ Lucy admitted with another heavy sigh. Her emotional state had returned to its normal levels the moment they had returned from the other world, her seal functioning properly once again, but despite that something strange was still occurring within her chest.

It had started shortly after the party began. Lucy had been fine at first, she had been listening to Levy talk about her favorite series of books, but that quickly changed when she spotted Natsu through the crowd. For a brief moment she enjoyed the warm feeling that spread through her chest, a smile forming on her face at the sight of her laughing partner, but that changed when Lisanna sat down next to him and began chatting to the pink haired dragon slayer, Natsu's own grin growing even wider at his childhood friend.

It was then that the feeling started to grow in Lucy's chest, an almost painful tightness and a strange, almost fluttery, feeling in the pit of her stomach. Lucy had instantly excused herself from the festivities, fearing that she may be having some kind of medical issue, but even Dragon Lucy was unable to determine the source of the malady, forcing her to resort to suppressing the feeling.

But even her subconscious defender was unable to fully control the feeling twisting in her chest, and it only got worse the more she saw Natsu with the young white haired mage. And the feeling was only growing with time, not getting better like most injuries.

"Is something wrong there dear? You've been sighing more today than I think I've ever heard from you before." The Master commented with a chuckle from the seat right in front of her, Lucy's glowing blue hand on his chest.

Ever since the events in the fall Lucy had been tasked with improving Master Makarov's health by using her own and Nyneve's power to improve his blood flow. When Porlyusica had heard what exactly Lucy had done to help the Master after his heart attack the pink haired apothecary had demanded she continue to perform such treatments for him. And if there was one thing that the blonde dragon slayer had learned from her interactions with the potion mage it was that you don't disobey her orders.

Lucy blinked slowly before forcing a smile onto her face. "No, it's nothing Master…Just some after effects from having the seal weakened." She wasn't exactly lying, as her body had been reasonably sore after the seal regained control over her draconic side, but Lucy was fairly certain that whatever the strange feeling was it had nothing to do with her dragon side.

Makarov chuckled at that, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder as Lucy began to ease off the bodily control magic. "Now, now, you don't get to my age without learning how to see how children are feeling…so tell me, what is bothering you?" The older mage pressed, Lucy biting the inside of her lip for a second before deciding to relent.

"Well…I'm not too sure. At first I thought it was simply something left over from my out of control emotions during the events in Edolas. But it's only growing worse as time goes on, and if I cannot determine a way to suppress it then Dragon Lucy will be forced to suppress all emotions above certain thresholds for a time until I can regain control over whatever is causing it."

"I see…and how exactly does this unknown feeling feel like?"

"Almost like a pressure in my chest and a pain in my stomach, like someone placed a massive boulder over my heart." Lucy tried to explain, her face scrunched up in concentration as she tried to pin down exactly how she felt.

Lucy watched as the Master stared at her, first with confusion before arriving at an almost amused expression. "I see, I see…and when exactly do you experience this feeling."

"When I look at Natsu." Lucy answered instantly, quickly noticing the Master's angry expression and quickly adding onto her explanation. "But only some times, specifically when he is with Lisanna."

The Master's grin only grew at that, adding to Lucy's confusion. "Oh? Then do dislike Mira's younger sister?"

"No! Not at all!" Lucy quickly denied. "While we haven't spoken much, only a brief greeting a few days ago, she seemed nice and I like Mirajane and Elfman so I…" Lucy lowered her gaze then, the painful feeling returning in full force. "Something about her being close to Natsu is…upsetting me? Confusing me? I don't understand what it is, only that it hurts."

The master continued to stare at her for a few more seconds before finally laughing loudly. "Well don't worry Lucy, I can tell you that there isn't anything wrong with you."

"Truly? Are you absolutely sure about that?" Lucy questioned in relief but still slightly cautious.

"Of course, the emotion that you're currently experiencing is one that men and women all experience at one time or another. And it's one that I have had plenty of experience with in the past."

"…thank goodness. Then are you, or perhaps Miss Porlyusica, able to fix it?"

"No." The master denied quickly dashing Lucy's hopes. "Unfortunately, what ails you is something that cannot be fixed by magic or potion, only by time."

"Time…" Lucy muttered, not quite understanding, as the Master patted her on the shoulder.

"But fear not, I do have some advice for you. Do something nice for our fire dragon slayer. Something that he will appreciate. If you do then I'm certain that the feeling in your chest will vanish just as quickly as it appeared."

Lucy couldn't help but frown at that, not understanding how a simple act of kindness could act as a cure for something that was bound to be a magic-based ailment, but she wouldn't question the wisdom of a Wizard Saint. "If that is what you think is best Master then I will do so. The treatment for today is over, is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No my dear, you've given me plenty today. Although if the problem continues to persist then I advise you to go speak with Mirajane, she can be a much greater help in this regard than I will ever be capable of."

 _Mirajane knows more about this than even a Wizard Saint? Her powers as the She-Devil must be truly impressive._ Lucy thought in awe as she nodded and walked back into the main hall, the noise of the still ongoing party assaulting her like a physical attack.  _But what exactly can I do for Natsu? Fight him?...no, that won't work. I can barely provide a challenge for him without my dragon slayer magic…food? That might work, but that's no different than any other day…this is harder than I thought._ Lucy grumbled to herself as Gajeel pushed his way through the crowd, grinning for reasons that she didn't understand.

"Oi! Bunny Girl! Let's have a catfight! You, me, The Squirt, and the Salamander's cat all in a battle royal!" The iron dragon slayer challenged, Lucy raising a curious eyebrow at the declaration.

"…I don't get it." She answered dumbly, the Exceeds and Machias staring at each other with strange expressions.

"I-I don't really want to hurt my friends…plus I think I would lose instantly." Happy muttered under his breath while Carla smiled at the blue exceed.

"How pathetic. You're giving up before you even start. I thought you were better than that." The white cat commented with a smile on her face, Happy, instantly looking more determined than before.

"…while my circuits are unable to process the reason behind this request. If it is Mistresses will that I fight then so be it." Artemis declared as a cloud of smoke covered her form, her human form cutting through the cloud with a massive cannon in one hand. "For the honor of my Master, I will fight!"

"…Interesting." Panterlily returned with a grin, a similar cloud of smoke appearing around him before he too reappeared in his larger form, Erza handing him a blade to use. "I heard about your attack before the activation of the Dragon Chain Cannon. It would be my honor to battle one such as you!" he returned as the two launched themselves at each other.

"What the hell! Happy! You get in there and fight too! You can't let Metal Head's and Luce's cat's win!" Natsu shouted from across the guild, Gajeel making his way over to the fire dragon slayer to start a brawl of his own.

"N-no…I want to live thank you very much." Happy eventually decided as he moved away from the combat, the occasional beam cutting though the air from Artemis's attacks.

Lucy for her part made her way over to one of the least busy corners of the guild after shaking off Levy's questions about how exactly she managed to find a still functioning Machias, the job request board where only Nab was currently standing in order to figure out what exactly she could do for Natsu. She wasn't exactly someone who did nice things on a common basis, so how exactly could she do something to aid Natsu? It wasn't like he wasn't always happy all the time anyway…the only thing he really got upset by was…

 _That's it!_ Lucy's epiphany struck like thunder, the feeling of excitement coursing through her veins for a brief moment before Dragon Lucy suppressed it somewhat. She did have something that she could give to Natsu in order to make him happy. Something only she knew and had learned more about not that long ago.

She could tell Natsu where the dragons went.

Sure, her mom did say not to trust this information to just anyone. But after so long with the guild, after being helped by them and helping them she knew that they were trustworthy. Natsu, and by extension Gajeel and Wendy, likely didn't have anything to work on when it came to their dragons. Surely they would appreciate Lucy's information.

Her mind made up, Lucy started to make her way through the guild with the intent of speaking to her partner in private. While she trusted the other guild members with her life, this was something she was supposed to do for Natsu to fix the pain in her chest.

It didn't take long for Lucy to find the pink haired dragon slayer, as he had just finished with his own brawl in the center of the guild and was currently sitting down next to Lisanna and chatting loudly and animatedly. The pain in Lucy's chest returned in full force but the blonde elemental mage chose to simply push through. The mission came first after all.

"U-um…Natsu?" Lucy eventually managed to get out, both Natsu and Lisanna smiling up at her from their seats.

"Oh, Heya Luce, what'cha need?"

"Um…can I speak to you, privately?" She eventually asked, glancing quickly at Lisanna before looking back at her partner.

"Hmm…" Natsu muttered as he stared up at the ceiling for a second before once again meeting Lucy's gaze. "Nah, not right now."

"…I'm sorry?" Lucy replied blankly, her mind unable to comprehend what was happening.

"Well, I'm talkin' with Lisanna right now and this is her welcome back party after all. I don't really think it's a good time for serious talk and stuff." The fire dragon slayer answered with a big grin on his face, the normally comforting gesture for some reason painful to Lucy in that moment. "It can wait till later right?"

"R-right…I suppose it can." Lucy answered back, suddenly feeling very tired for some reason she couldn't identify. "Well then, see you later."

"Ah, Lucy! Would you like to join us? I bet you've got some great stories about what you and Natsu got up to after I left." Lisanna shouted after Lucy, the blonde turning back to see a strange, almost worried expression on the white haired girls face, the expression only making her feel worse for reasons she couldn't understand.

"N-no…that's alright…I'm uncomfortable with this much activity anyway…until later." She quietly muttered before making her way back to the request board and staring down at the ground with the feeling in her chest now growing more painful.

 _Wh-why? Natsu said that he would talk to me later…so why do I feel like my heart hurts now more than ever?_ Lucy cried to herself, tears leaking from her eyes for a brief moment before Dragon Lucy suppressed the worse of the emotions, leaving her feeling more hollow out than before.  _I…I need to get out of here…maybe a job?_ Lucy eventually decided as she turned to the board and began scanning through the jobs listed.

Nearly any of the jobs would work for her purposes, but one in particular stood out to the point that Lucy's depression was nearly wiped away by her shock. Ripping the request from the board, Lucy quickly scanned through the contents.

_Requesting mage to help deal with a massive magical creature of unknown origins. Target is larger than most homes and has left evidence of charred ground in its wake; nearly all livestock in the area have disappeared. Please help us. Five hundred thousand Jewel….this description, it almost sounds like it was a fire dragon…but how is that possible? The dragons should have all gone thought that gate…maybe one left behind like mom was?_

She couldn't ignore this. She turned back to the guild, intending to call out to her teammates and ask for their help. But she stopped just short of calling out Natsu's name. Didn't he just make it clear that he didn't want to deal with anything serious right now? Wasn't Lisanna his priority?

 _Right…this is what I've always needed to do. Handle the situation myself so everyone else can stay happy. Just like I did for everyone back at the institute. I'll fight in the background so they can stay happy, that's the least I owe them._ Lucy decided as she made her way over to the bar, Mirajane standing behind it with her trademark smile.

"Ara, if it isn't Lucy. Anything I can get for you honey? Master declared that drinks were on the house for the night so feel free." The bartender greeted warmly, Lucy shaking her head as she handed over the request.

"No thank you Mira, but I would like to take this job if you wouldn't mind."

Mira raised an eyebrow at that, staring at Lucy with an incredulous expression. "You're going to take a job? Right now? During a party?" The barmaid questioned, Lucy flinching at each and every point she made.

"W-well…" She trailed off, Mira sighing lightly before going back to wiping down a cup.

"Lucy, you can talk to me about anything, you know that right? So what's bothering you?"

Lucy opened her mouth to deny any issues she was having, but quickly recalled what the Master said and decided to just obey his order. "Mira? What should I do if I feel pain in my chest when I look at Natsu?"

Mira froze so quickly that Lucy was almost certain that she was once again under the effects of Evergreen's stone eyes, the wooden mug in her hands falling to the ground with a dull thump and breaking the strange spell the barmaid seemed to have fallen under. Faster than Lucy could track, Mira spun around and grabbed Lucy by her shoulders, the look in the older woman's eyes causing Lucy's flight or fight instincts to scream at her to flee.

"Lucy, honey? Would you be a dear and tell me everything about what you just said? And please don't leave out a single detail." Mira asked in an almost sing-songy voice, a voice that nearly made Lucy whimper in fear.

"Y-yes ma'am." The elemental mage replied with a stiff nod of her head before launching into the tale of what had been happening since they returned from Edolas. At first Mira looked absolutely ecstatic to hear about the strange malady that was afflicting her, but as time went on her far too happy smile gave way to a neutral expression before she finally landed on a frown.

"Ohhhh…that fool! After all the advances that Gray told me about in Edolas!" She all but shouted as she glared though the crowds at Natsu, the fire dragon slayer apparently feeling the fury in her glare and glancing around for the source. "I knew he was thick but I didn't think it was this bad…and with you willing to tell him about his dad…I'm going to have to talk to Erza about punishing him."

"Why? While I was disappointed in his reply, he hasn't broken any guild rules right?"

"No, not guild rules, but he broke the cardinal rule when it comes to dealing with women." Mira replied with a huff as she stared back at Lucy. "While I personally think you should stay, I won't tell you how to grieve-."

_Grieve? What am I grieving about?_

"-But are you sure that you'll be alright? This job sounds kind of tough for a single mage. Are you sure you don't want to ask Erza or Gray to come with you?" Mira asked, worry now in her gaze as Lucy shook her head.

"I won't be alone, Artemis will accompany me. And the job isn't that far away and I will request help if it requires it." Lucy replied, Mira looking unconvinced but still writing down the job as taken in the guild ledger behind the counter.

"Alright Lucy, it's all yours…" Mira said as she pulled Lucy over the counter and hugged her tightly. "Just remember that you didn't do anything wrong here. And that no matter what Natsu still cares about you."

Lucy couldn't understand why she was being hugged, but appreciated it nonetheless. "Thanks Mira, let the others know where I went when you get the chance." Lucy said in farewell as she went over to where Artemis and Pantherlily were resting, both having suffered some mirror injuries from their spar. "Artemis, we're leaving."

The Machias instantly rose to her feet, her cannon disappearing as she saluted the blonde mage. "Understood Master." And after saying their goodbyes to the black Exceed, the two Fairy Tail mages walked from the rambunctious guild hall into the relative quiet of the afternoon in Magnolia.

Lucy remained relatively silent as they made their way to the train station and purchased their tickets. Her emotions still hadn't recovered to the point of stability, the damage Natsu somehow inflicted lingering in the back of her mind. But with a possible fight on her hands she could hardly afford to remain distracted. Maybe it would be better to just have Dragon Lucy cut them all off for the moment? At least until she fully understood what was happening?

"Now, now, Princess; let's not do anything hasty because of flame brain's stupidity." A voice Lucy recognized as her premier light elemental's drew her from her thoughts, a brown haired man now sitting next to Artemis and grinning at her from behind his shades.

"Loke? Why are you here?"

"Why to keep you company Princess. And of course to see Artemis again, I have to say, you're looking even more ravishing than the last time I saw you." The light elemental complemented, Lucy's black haired companion bowing her head in greeting.

"Salutations, lord elemental. I thank you for your generous compliments, but all flirting attempts must be first authorized by my Master. As is stated in section four, paragraph twelve of my user manual."

"Right, should have expected something like that." Loke commented with a heavy sigh before turning to Lucy again. "But as I was saying, don't do anything too rash for the moment. Just wait until we get back and Natsu has his ass handed to him by Erza."

That got Lucy's attention, her eyes narrowing as she regarded the brown haired elemental. "Loke, do you understand what's happening to me?"

"Of course, I honestly don't understand why those two fools refused to tell you what you were experiencing. You're just a little jealous right now." Loke answered with answer that meant almost nothing to Lucy.

"Jealous? The emotion that comes into play when a person feels a sense of desire in regards to others property?" Lucy tried to confirm, both her companions nodding in confirmation. "But what do I want from Natsu then? He hasn't obtained any property since we've returned from Edolas that I desire."

"Not quite, it isn't Natsu you were jealous of, it was Lisanna."

"…I don't understand." Lucy replied after a minute, her head tilted to the side in confusion.

"Right…well, don't worry about it for now, just try and stay focused on the mission for now. Things will work themselves out eventually."

Lucy nodded and closed her eyes, attempting to get a little shut eye before the mission proper. But her state of relaxation only lasted for a few seconds before her thoughts went back to her pink haired partner and Mira's returned sister. How could she be jealous of her? While the emotion wasn't exactly one her mother covered in great detail back during their sessions on emotion, but the blonde elemental summoner still understood the basic concept. But it just didn't make sense. Lucy had never truly wanted anything in life; she simply lived to complete the objectives before her. If anything, the only thing she desired at this point was her life at Fairy Tail and the safety of her friends…did that mean that she considered Lisanna a threat to her family?

 _No, that's impossible. Lisanna part of my family now, even if I never met her before if Fairy Tail accepts her then I will too…but that still doesn't explain why I feel this way._ Lucy's thoughts continued to go in circles for quite awhile before another question managed to distract her.

"Loke? There's something I wanted to ask you about this." Lucy put forward as she fished the strange weapon she received from the light elemental only a few days ago, during some of her free time, Lucy experimented with the strange magical device, and what she discovered shocked even her. Whatever the weapon was, it had the ability to transform into nearly any weapon she could think of, the light that came out of both ends as sharp and as tough as steel when she tested it by using the image of a sword to release its power. Whatever it was, it was clearly a magical object of the highest quality. "What exactly is this?"

Loke Leaned back in his seat as he contemplated his answer. "…I was wondering when you would bring this up…that weapon is one that was entrusted to the elemental lords long ago by a friend of the kings. A weapon that served them well during their days in the mortal realm…a weapon known as The Lesser Key: Lemegeton."

"Lemegeton…" Lucy repeated as she stared down at the strange cylinder, somehow feeling like the name fit it perfectly despite the fact that it didn't look anything like a key Lucy knew of. "If it's that important, then why did you give it to me?"

"Oh, come on now Princess; you don't think you deserve something important every once and awhile?" The light elemental commented with a smirk, sighing heavily when Lucy nodded her head in confirmation. "Right well, let's just say that out of anyone in the world; you are the most qualified to hold that weapon. If anything, it's your birthright."

"Birthright?" Lucy parroted, but Loke was done for the moment, choosing instead to turn his attention to the female attendant that was walking past. And so Lucy was forced to abandon her further questions, instead choosing to focus on keeping her stomach from feeling more awful than normal, the combination of apparent jealously and motion sickness almost too much for her to take.

It wasn't long until the conductor announced that they were approaching the town that had put out the request, a small mountain town by the name of Birnia, Lucy could see the signs of some kind of magical creature roving the land. Entire portions of the forest appeared to be burned down and even those trees that remained standing appeared to have deep gashes in their bark.

"Well this looks like it'll be fun." Loke commented with a strange smile on his face before turning back to Lucy. "You sure you can handle this with just us here? It's not too late to contact the others via lacrima." The light elemental continued with worry for his master so clear in his tone that even Lucy picked up on it.

But Lucy had made her decision, a painful smile on her face as she shook her head. "While that is true, the others are all enjoying the party to welcome back Lisanna. It wouldn't be right of me to interrupt them…Natsu didn't want me there after all." She continued, the pain in her chest growing worse as the words left her mouth, the blonde quickly shaking her head in order to dispel the thoughts.

Stepping off the train, Lucy instantly realized that something was defiantly wrong. People ducked into buildings as quickly as they could, their heads down and shoulders slumped all the while. They were afraid, and judging from the charred portions of the landscape nearby whatever was hunting in the area was growing closer and closer to attack the town proper.

It didn't take her long to find the house of the town mayor, one of the few civilians out and about was willing to give her directions after all, and it was only a few seconds after she knocked on the front door that she was pulled inside by a nearly crying elderly man.

"Oh, thank the gods. I was afraid that no one would arrive before the beast arrived at our doorstep. Thank you wizard."

"It is not an issue, Fairy Tail is always happy to help." Lucy replied with a smile as the elderly mayor led them to a couch. "Now then, would you mind informing us of what exactly has transpired around here?"

"Y-yes…it all started about a month ago."

"That's quite awhile ago, why did you wait so long before sending out the requests?" Loke questioned from his spot behind the couch, his eyes narrowing behind his shades.

"We weren't sure at first that there was a problem, a few charred trees here and there, a gash in the ground. We assumed it was just a local wizard training themselves or we thought it was just a fight between mages…our town is close to one of the major roads though Fiore after all, it's hardly rare for such things to occur." The old man explained, dabbing his forehead to wipe away sweat all the while. "B-but then things got much worse; whole tracks of land burned to the ground, wildlife slaughtered, and terrifying roars in the dead of night."

"And to make matters worse, only a few nights ago we could hear travelers screaming in terror and pain." The mayor eventually admitted as he stared down at his lap, his voice trembling as he continued. "Now most of us are too afraid to even leave our homes! Please, Miss Magus, please help us! We are at our wits end!"

"…Understood. I will begin searching the surrounding wilds immediately." Lucy nodded with a serious expression, her emotions now under control as Dragon Lucy began to suppress her unnecessary emotions in order to keep her focused on her mission. "Well then, if you'll excuse us we will get start-." Lucy started to say before someone knocked on the door, drawing everyone's attention, Lucy fighting off the need to draw her bow.

"E-excuse me for a moment." The mayor apologized as he stood and went to the door, Lucy standing as well and moving to the doorway just in case. The blonde elemental mage heard the door open, followed shortly by a serious, young woman's voice.

"Greetings sir, is this the house of the mayor?"

"Y-yes it is…May I ask who you are child?" The mayor returned, Lucy slowly approaching as the conversation continued.

"I am Kagura Mikazuchi of the Mermaid Heel guild, come to answer your request for aid in monster slaying." The young girl continued in a calm, controlled tone of voice, Lucy freezing momentarily at the revelation before relaxing her guard and continuing to approach the front of the hall.

"A-ah…unfortunately, I have already found a mage to take on our request. I apologize for the inconvenience, but…" The mayor trailed off, clearly out of his element with the situation.

"I see…then I will take my leave." The girl announced, Lucy choosing then to make herself known.

"Ah that won't be necessary, I have a solution for everyone involved."Lucy announced as she stepped into the main hall to see who exactly the Mayor was talking to. Just as she suspected the newly arrived mage was a young woman, likely not past her twelfth year yet, who was staring at Lucy with a mixture of mild surprise and cautiousness. In her hand she held a sword in its sheath that was both tightly wrapped by a cloth and chained to its scarab, something Lucy found curious at first until she felt the immense magical energy contained within. The girl wore a nearly pure white uniform, a stark contrast to her black hair, and from the way she held herself Lucy couldn't help compare her with Erza, the young girl's cautious gaze nearly identical to that of the crimson haired requip mages. "I do not care for the reward of the mission, as I am only here to confirm information pertaining to the monster in question. If Miss Mikazuchi is fine with it, Mermaid Heel may take credit for this mission and I will simply help with the extermination." Lucy announced, both the mayor and Kagura staring at her before the younger mage returned to a neutral expression.

"T-truly? Is this arrangement agreeable to you as well Miss Mikazuchi?" The mayor all but jumped with joy as he turned back to the younger mage.

Kagura did not answer immediately, instead turning to study Lucy for reasons the older blonde couldn't understand, but eventually she blushed heavily and turned away, Lucy only tilting her head in confusion as she did so. "Understood, Mermaid Heel will accept this job. I would be honored to work with the Elvish Sniper on monster extermination." Kagura agreed before bowing to Lucy. "I look forward to working with you."

"…ah, I forgot about that name." Lucy thought out loud before remembering the etiquette that had been forced into her mind, the blonde performing a picture perfect curtsey that only mad Kagura blush all the more. "And I you, these are my companions; Artemis and Loke, they will be working with us as well." Lucy introduced her two fellow Fairy Tail mages, Artemis nodding slightly in greeting while Loke waved and smiled.

"Oh, well aren't you the cutie. Give it a few more years and you and I can get to know each other much better." The light elemental commented, Lucy not quite understanding what he meant by that but recognizing a combination of words that Mira warned her about.

"Loke, if you continue to talk like that I will have to punish you." Lucy warned, Loke backing away with hands up.

"No need to tell me twice, I've seen what you did to that poor earth spirit even if it was her request. I mean, how the heck did you get that good with a whip? If I didn't know better, I would say that was the weapon you were most comfortable with." The light elemental shuddered, both Lucy and Artemis staring at him strangely.

"Clarification; Master Lucy has a natural affinity for all weaponry. It is only logical that she knows how to wield a whip as well." Artemis declared in an almost like it was a matter of fact. Loke sighing even more in response.

"O-ohh…with this our town will be safe once again…thank you so much!" The mayor all but cried as Lucy moved to the door.

"Well then, shall we begin? There isn't much daylight left for us to hunt after all." Lucy asked, Kagura nodding in agreement as the two mages stepped out into of the house, followed closely by Artemis and Loke.

* * *

Natsu was getting annoyed; not at the party, cause' it was still going strong and the fire dragon slayer loved to cut loose, but at something at the back of his thoughts that was constantly bothering him. He just couldn't understand it, Lisanna's welcome back celebration had been awesome so far, he had gotten more fights than he could want, Mira had been giving out food practically the whole time, and his family had gotten gotten back one of its members! So why was he so annoyed?

It could have been Gray, the Icy bastard being always being able to piss him off; it might have been Erza screaming bloody murder at him yesterday, yelling somethin' about how much of a fool he was or something along those lines, heck, it might be the strange glances that Lisanna kept sending his way in between answering questions about her time in Edolas.

 _…nah, that doesn't sound right._ Natsu thought as he wolfed down his breakfast, Happy sitting across from him devouring his own fish as they prepared for another day of partying.  _But then why am I so annoyed? What am I forgetting?_ The pink haired dragon slayer continued to think about as the two of them made their way to the guild, the annoyance forgotten as he kicked the doors open. "Heya everyone!" He shouted, a chorus of greetings echoing from the massive hall as he made his way over to the bar.

Or he was going to, but thought better of it when Mira started to glare at him, his draconic senses warning him of impending doom. So rather than face off against the pissed off demon mage, Natsu instead choose the lesser of two evils, sitting with Gray at one of the tables.

The shirtless ice mage stared at him strangely for a second before finally resorting to insulting him. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Flame Brain?"

"Shut up, can't a guy just hang out with someone he hates once in awhile?" Natsu returned as he snagged some of Gray's food from his plate and turned away, Gray only staring at him with an even stranger expression.

"If it was anyone else sure, but you're too stupid to do something like that." Gray commented with an annoyed huff, Natsu immediately jumping up in fury.

"What was that Ice Nuts? You wanna fight?" He challenged, Gray also standing up in preparation for their fight.

But before either could throw their first punch the voice of despair called out to them, their blood running cold at Erza's chilling tone. "You two wouldn't happen to be fighting correct?"

"N-no ma'am!" Both shouted as they stood at attention, neither willing to risk dealing with Erza's wrath so early in the morning. The two mages falling back into their seats as Lisanna made her way over to their table, laughing at their expenses.

"Hah…it's nice to see that some things don't ever change huh?"

"Eh? Whada'ya mean Lisanna?" Natsu questioned with a tilt of his head, Lisanna only continuing to giggle at the now slightly annoyed dragon slayer. The three childhood friends spent most of the morning talking about nothing in particular, Mira joining them for a brief time to talk to her sister and shoot Natsu a glare for reasons he wasn't sure about, surely she hadn't found Happy's stash of fish…right?

But eventually Lisanna decided she had enough of just sitting around."Hey Natsu? Do you want to go do something today? As much as I've enjoyed the party I kinda want to see how Magnolia changed since I left."

Natsu perked up immediately at that, a large grin already forming on his face. "Oh ya, we could go see that old hut we built for Happy…in fact, we should bring Luce along with us!" The fire dragon slayer shot out of his seat, scanning the surrounding crowd for any sign of the blonde hair that marked his partner's presence.

"Well it's about time Natsu." Lisanna commented, drawing Natsu's confused gaze back to the white haired transformation mage who was half-glaring at him. "You've been ignoring her for the past few days and I thought for sure that she was going to start hating me. Honestly, the Lucy back in Edolas could get really scary when someone got close to her Natsu so I was certain she was out to get me."

" Whada'ya mean Lisanna? Lucy wouldn't do that." Natsu replied as he turned back to his silver haired childhood friend, said friend staring at him strangely.

"Of course she would Natsu; I would be a little upset if someone was hanging around my boyfre-…" Lisanna started to say before trailing off, Natsu flinching somewhat at the expression on her face, almost like it was a mixture between remembering her door was open and realizing someone stole her stuff. "…Natsu? What exactly is Lucy to you?"

"That's a weird question…she's my partner!" Natsu answered back with a smile, Lisanna's eyes narrowing slightly at his answer.

"Ok, well what exactly does that mean to you?"

"It means we go on missions together, that she gets to feed me and I get to use her bed and we look out for each other!" Natsu listed off easily, confused as to why Lisanna was staring at him like he was an idiot. "Isn't that what team mates do for each other? Plus, Luce's so weird that she needs me to look out for her!"

"…Oh wow, I finally get what big sis was talking about last night." Lisanna muttered with a heavy sigh, Natsu continuing to stare at her funny, before continuing. "Natsu, partners aren't supposed to do the stuff you just talked about, besides for the looking out for each other. Doing that kind of stuff is suppo0sed to be for…people who are really close."

"Hey! There's no one closer to Luce than me! Why can't I do that stuff with her?" Natsu immediately shouted back, Lisanna rubbing her temple before answering.

"Because…oh how do I explain this to you…remember when we were kids? When I asked you if I could be your wife?" Lisanna finally asked, both their cheeks turning pink at the memory. "The things you do with Lucy are a little too close to…well…augh; I am not having this conversation with you! Anyway, you really need to think hard about what Lucy means to you, I mean really hard!" The silver haired mage finally shouted before turning away. "Anyway, I need to go talk to my sister; we can go see the sights later alright?" and before the pink haired slayer could answer, Lisanna vanished into the crowd.

Natsu watched her leave before slumping down back onto the bench in thought, his desire to find his partner momentarily forgotten as the considered his old friends words. She did have a point, he did treat Luce differently than he did the other members of his team, as he wasn't nearly suicidal enough to try and sneak into Erza's bed, but that was just 'cause she was his closest human friend not counting Happy. She was always around, never questioned his actions no matter how stupid Ice Brain thought they were, and was always so kind to him and his blue exceed partner.

 _Well, isn't it just 'cause she's a dragon slayer?_ Natsu tried to reason through but almost instantly realized that wasn't the reason, as he never even thought about doing that kind of stuff with the younger dragon slayer regardless of how badly Carla would claw at him for stealing the Bluenette's food.  _I mean sure, the only other person who ever put up with me for so long was Pops, but…this is hard! What the heck was Lisanna talkin' about?_

"Wow, don't think I've ever seen you think so hard Flame Brain, don't hurt yourself to hard, that's my job after all." Gray eventually commented with enough sarcasm that even Natsu was able to pick up on it.

Natsu growled lightly and was about return fire with his own remark, but stopped when a thought occurred to him. Gray was…kinda smart sometimes. Maybe he would have an answer. "Hey Gray, why do I treat Luce different than anyone else?"

The black haired mage stared at Natsu like he was insane for a few seconds before making a clicking noise with his tongue and crossing his arms and glaring. "Ok, what the hell are you talking about now?"

"Everyone keeps talking about how I'm treating Luce different and everything but I don't get it. I mean, ya I like her just like I like everyone in Fairy Tail, but I don't get what Lisanna was talkin' about! She's my partner and stuff so of course I spend more time with her!" Natsu glared down at the table then, his fists clenched for reasons he didn't quite understand before looking back up at his rival, Gray staring at him in with annoyance.

"Geez, can't believe it's taken you this long to work this stuff out…Hah, oh well, I guess I can clue you in for once." Gray finally replied with a shrug of his shoulders, Natsu leaning in closer inadvertently. "Ok so you like Lucy right?"

"Of course."

"Ok, so try this. Imagine Lucy being someone else's partner, like mine or something."

"What the heck's the point of that? Luce's my partner."

"Just do it flame brain." Gray returned, Natsu frowning slightly but deciding he might as well try. He closed his eyes and tried to picture Gray and Luce, the two alone going on missions, talking about nothing in particular but both smiling before Gray leaned closer to the blonde, Lucy staring at him with a look Natsu had never seen before but almost looked…expectant.

Almost immediately after imagining the two mages getting close Natsu exploded into flames, a few members nearby crying out in surprise at the sudden spike in temperature. Natsu shot out of his seat, growling loudly at a threat he didn't fully comprehend while grabbing Gray by his half off shirt, the ice mage pausing mid strip to glare back at the dragon slayer.

"Calm down dumbass. Whatever you think I did I didn't do." Gray said with a roll of his eyes, swatting Natsu's hands away and returning to his seat, Natsu continuing to growl but doing the same. "See that? Your feeling possessive of Lucy right now."

"Possessive? That's just dumb Ice Nuts; Luce's not an object so I can't own her…right?"

"No…well, maybe; I guess it depends on if Lucy's into that kinda stuff but I doubt it." Gray commented with a shrug. "What it means is that you want Lucy to just hang out around you, to only be there for you, that kinda stuff."

"…I don't get it." Natsu commented dumbly as he scratched his head, Gray now groaning in frustration.

"You know what? I'm just gonna say tell you even if it does piss of Mira later…Natsu, you are in lov-." But whatever Gray was about to say was drowned out when something impacted the ground not far away, the entire guild shaking with the force of the impact.

The two teammates were on their feet instantly, both prepared to use magic in order to fight off whatever had just attacked their guild, and Natsu could see Erza and the others also prepared for battle.

But whatever had attacked didn't return for a second strike, leaving the air tense as everyone present waited for a fight.

But as the seconds ticked by and nothing exploded everyone began to relax…up until Levy ran though the doors with a look of absolute panic on her face.

"E-everyone! Outside! It-its…Luce! She…!" the blue haired Solid Script mage stuttered before breaking out into panicked sobs, Natsu's blood running cold at the mention of his partner. Natsu leapt over the table and sprinted out the doors, closely followed by the rest of his teammates and nearly everyone else from the guild.

Natsu shielded his eyes as he stepped into the daylight, the glare of the midday sun somehow much worse, before he finally saw what had caused the explosion. A crater had been formed in the stone pavement in front of the guild, a smoldering woman clutching at a girl who couldn't be any older than ten. Natsu quickly recognized the smoking woman as Luce's new metal friend, Aramis or something like that, but compared to the last time Natsu had seen her she looked much worse. Large chunks were missing from her body, revealing sparking machinery underneath her pale skin, along with deep gashes and burn marks that couldn't have been from a simple spar. The metal woman's eyes were completely white and from what Natsu could tell she was unconscious. Natsu could see that the strange funnel shapes protruding from her back were still glowing red hot from her flight, likely the reason that a new hole had been opened up in front of the guild.

The girl in the Machias's arms wasn't much better off, covered in almost just as much cuts and whimpering slightly, one of her hands clutching a strange blade in its sheath like it was a life preserver and she was a drowning woman in the middle of the ocean.

But the one person who Natsu was afraid for wasn't there, and that more than anything made him that much more worried.

The moment the others recognized who exactly was lying in the crater they all started to shout at the same time, each one screaming in an attempt to figure out what exactly happened. But Natsu stayed quiet, his mind not fully able to process what was happening.

But the noise immediately stopped when the Master enlarged his hands and clapped them together, the force of which sent a gust of wind through the gathered mages. "Quiet! Levy, what has happened?"

The blunenette hesitated before answering. "A-Artemis was conscious when they landed and she…she said that Lucy was in danger!" She cried out before beginning to cry into her hands, her teammates moving closer to comfort her.

The master stared off into the distance for a brief moment before giving his orders. "Erza, Mira, bring these two to the infirmary and ensure that all members of our family are accounted for. It's possible Fairy Tail is being targeted once again." The old man ordered the two women, the two S-class mages exchanging a glance before gently lifting the two injured mages and carrying them inside. Makarov then turned to Natsu, his face tensing up even more as he regarded the furious dragon slayer. "Natsu, I understand that you wish to help your partner, but running off half-cocked will not help. Give the wounded time to recover, from them we will learn exactly what has transpired and go to Lucy's aid."

Natsu ground his teeth as he glared at the crater. More than anything he wanted to rush to his partners' side, but as much as he hated to admit it the old bastard was right. He could barely get Luce's scent from the machine girl and trying to track her though the air would be nearly impossible. There was no choice but to wait…for now.

Natsu turned around and stormed back into the guild, his shoulders tense and the air around him shimmering due to his rage. Whoever or whatever had hurt the metal lady better pray that they hadn't hurt Luce as badly, cause' if they had then there wouldn't even be ashes left of them when Natsu was done with them.


	24. Chapter 24

As Natsu paced back and forth in front of the infirmary, as he was no longer allowed inside due to the fact that his constant movement was distracting Wendy, he couldn't help but growl under his breath. It had been hours, Hours! Since Luce's robot chick had come crashing down just outside the guild and still the old man hadn't sent them to go track down Natsu's missing partner. Sure, he really didn't have a good way to track the blonde slayer, and going into a battle blind wasn't exactly a great idea, but still…he just couldn't stand this! Every second that they spent at the guild could be another second that Luce was getting hurt. And more than anything the fact that Luce was in danger was almost more than he could bear.

But at the same time Natsu couldn't help but feel confused over his anxiety. Bad stuff happened to his family all the time, it came with being a mage after all, but for some reason the thought of Luce being in pain was so much worse than anything the flame dragon slayer had felt before.

 _Damn it! Luce's in trouble and here we are waitin' for some kind to wake up…screw it, I'm gonna go help my partner!_ Natsu finally decided as he turned to the door. But before he could take a single step a massive fist flattened him into the floor.

"Natsu…for the last time; you are not leaving until we determine who exactly attacked Lucy. If you try to leave again I will have Gray freeze you to a pillar." Makarov threatened without looking up from the map on the bar, Gray looking up from the table he was at but otherwise not rising to the occasion of freezing his rival over.

"What the hell Gramps! Luce needs us and we're just sitting around here! There's no time for this!" Natsu screamed out from underneath the Wizard Saint's fist, the fire dragon slayer clenching his teeth in frustration.

"So where will you go then, fool? All we know is that Lucy took a job in a small town to the north. We do not know anything beyond the fact that the job request describes a beast of reasonable strength in the area. How will you find her when even with your dragon slayer senses won't be able to pick up on her after so long?"

"It doesn't matter! I'll find her no matter what!"

"And I don't doubt that you will. But if you go off and are captured as well then you will only be putting more of our family in danger." The old man mercilessly berated, Natsu clenching his teeth all the harder when he realized the Master was right. "Let Wendy work her magic, let Levy decipher how exactly to repair a Machias, and all of Fairy Tail will go to find our family member." The Master finished as he removed his hand and returned it to its normal size, Natsu remaining on the ground for a brief moment before Erza walked over and offered him a hand.

"We understand Natsu, Lucy is our teammate as well. If the child does not wake up soon then we will join you in searching for her…but for now we must wait." She commanded as Natsu took her hand, the crimson haired mage easily lifting Natsu back to his feet.

The silence that followed The Master's and Erza's declarations was almost oppressive, the various members there each dealing with their anxiety in their own ways as Natsu made his way over to the table that Levy had claimed for herself, a few towers of books surrounding her as she concentrated on the one before her. "Levy? Any luck with figuring out how to get Artemis back online?"

"…No." Levy sighed as she leaned back and rubbed her temples. "There's so little about Machias already, even with the stuff Lu left for me, and the only thing I've seen on repairing them is allowing them to absorb a heck of a lot of lighting magic."

Natsu perked up at that, a faint light of hope finally showing itself. "Then we can-."

"No we can't Natsu. We don't have nearly enough lighting magic to reactivate her." Levy interrupted before Natsu could even finish asking his question, a frustrated look on her face as she leaned forward. "Cana already tried to use her magic to create lighting for Artemis and she barely even twitched from four blasts of it, not to mention she didn't recover at all. Even if she uses all her magic I doubt it'll be enough to help…just goes to show how powerful her Elemental Lacrima are."

"…Damn it…so all we can do is wait?" Natsu asked, fully knowing the answer before Levy slowly nodded in confirmation.

"…I'm so sorry Natsu…if only I was smarter! If only I had gone with her then…" Levy cried out as she rubbed at her eyes, the scent of tears that Natsu had detected before even approaching growing stronger as the blunette began to sniffle.

"Don't do that Levy; you couldn't have known this would happen." Jet comforted as Droy placed a hand on her shoulder, Levy nodding eventually and returning to the book.

"I'm not giving up though. I'll find something, anything, that'll help, don't worry Natsu!" Levy eventually declared with mock cheer, Natsu smiling slightly at her attempt to cheer him up and trying hard to grin right back in response.

"Right, good luck then, I'm gonna go see if the kid woke up yet…and yes Gramps, I won't burn anything in the infirmary this time!" Natsu decaled with a shrug, shouting out the end as the old man shot him a dirty look.

Trying to be as quiet as he could, Natsu made his way into the infirmary to see Wendy wrapping bandages around the girl that had been in Artemis's arms, apparently having finished her healing and was now working on dealing with the more superficial wounds. The blue haired dragon slayer looked up when her sensitive hearing picked up on Natsu sneaking in, the younger mage trying to smile but failing to quickly in favor of looking down nervously at her charge.

Natsu couldn't help but frown in annoyance at the situation, his concern for both the dragon slayer before him and the one missing only growing, but quickly hid his unease behind an indifferent mask, making his way over to the bed and placing a hand on Wendy's shoulder. "…How's she doin'?"

"…Her wounds are closed, but she's exhausted and…she lost a lot more blood than she should of." Wendy explained quietly, the exhaustion from using her healing magic evident in her voice.

"Blood?" Natsu repeated as he stared down at the teen on the bed. "But she has barely any wounds on her, how'd that happen?"

"I don't know."Wendy replied with a shake of her head, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "All I can guess is that the monster that attacked them somehow was able to drain their blood…if it was a monster." The Bluenette continued, her tone becoming more miserable as she continued to explain.

"Don't worry Wendy, well get revenge for whoever did this. And you know Luce's just probably hanging out somewhere just fine. She's had a lot worse than some stupid monster could dish out." Natsu said with a grin on his face, trying hard to convince both Wendy and himself.

The sky dragon slayer stared up at the man she respected for a few seconds in surprise before smiling as well and nodding. "Y-yes! Of course we will! Because we're Fairy Tail right?"

"Heh, now you're getting' it…but you should go take a rest Wendy. Even if Luce is practically immortal she'll probably need some healin' when we find her."

"R-right! Then I'll take a nap on one of the other beds…will you please wake me up if she wakes up?"

"Yep! You can count on me!" Natsu announced as he placed a hand over his heart and smiled in confidence, Carla scoffing at his arrogance.

"I can honestly say that that statement is one of the greatest joke you've ever said fool, better than anything the Tomcat has ever offered." The white cat declared as she began hovering over to the bed Wendy was lying down on, completely ignoring Natsu's indignant screech. "And if you so much as look at Wendy improperly while she's sleeping I will claw your eyes out, understood?"

"Ya, ya, stop worrying." Natsu replied with a annoyed snort, the white cat glaring at him for a second before sitting down next to Wendy, both girls falling asleep after only a few moments of relaxing.

Natsu watched the two for a moment, making sure that the two were alright, before turning back to their unconscious guest and sitting in the seat next to the bed and clenching his fists. With nothing to do Natsu's mind inevitably went back to thinking about his partner. When Natsu had seen her last she had come up to him in the middle of the party, looking weird but not any weirder than normal…but now that he thought about it, she did sound like she was in pain, but not hurt like Natsu was used to, instead she had sounded almost like she was hurting inside, the kind of hurt that Natsu was never good at dealing with.

 _Damn it! If only I had noticed when she was trying to talk to me earlier…why wasn't I paying attention?_ Natsu cursed to himself as he sighed explosively and stared up at the ceiling.  _And I promised her that I would stay with her…I left her alone just like what my pops did to me… "_ I'm the worst." He said out loud as he himself started to feel sleepy, and with nothing better to do Natsu decided that a quick nap wasn't the worst thing to do in the current situation.

.

.

.

Natsu's sleep was dreamless, restless, and as such when he heard a voice he didn't recognize groaning slightly he woke up instantly, his eyes opening to see the black haired girl in the bed before him slowly opening her eyes and looking around in confusion,

The second Natsu realized that the girl was awake he leapt up and leaned over to the point that they're noses were almost touching. "Where's Luce! What happened?" He shouted out, the girl instantly focusing on him.

Unfortunately, this turned out to be a mistake on the fire dragon slayer's part, as the girl didn't seem to recognize him as someone who wasn't a threat. Almost instantly after he shouted the girl leapt up and kicked him in the face, rolling across the bed while Natsu was reeling back to grab her weird sword.

"Who are you? What have you done with Ms. Lucy?" The girl questioned as she readied her sword, Natsu staring at her in confusion before growling darkly.

"What I did with her? What did you do with her?" Natsu accused as The Master and others from the guild running into the room, the old man enlarging his fist and slamming Natsu into a nearby wall.

"Natsu! What did I say about fighting in the infirmary! Do it again and I'll punish you even worse than I did after you stole the S-class job!" the guild master warned, Natsu paling and prostrating himself the second the hand moved back.

"A-aye Sir! I'm deeply sorry!" Natsu apologized, The master nodding in satisfaction before turning to the young mage who was still prepared to attack.

"I apologize for his behavior, young lady. Would you mind telling us your name?"

"…Kagrua… Kagrua Mikazuchi." The girl announced, her stance relaxing slightly but her hand still hovering over the handle of her bound blade.

Makarov nodded and smiled before continuing. "I see, I am Makarov; Guild Master of the Fairy Tail guild and member of the Wizard Saints." The master introduced himself, Kagrua's eyes widening slightly at the revelation.

"F-Fairy Tail?! Then this is the Fairy Tail guild hall?" Kagrua questioned, the Master nodding in confirmation and prompting the young girl to sigh in relief." Thank goodness…Lucy! You must help Ms. Lucy!" she pleaded, the tension that had begun to evaporate returning in full force.

"So Lucy is in danger…tell me child, what exactly transpired? Was it truly a simple monster that attacked you?" The Master asked, Kagrua shaking her head in denial.

"No it wasn't…It all started when we entered the forest outside of town…"

* * *

As Kagrua continued deeper into the woods she couldn't help but stare at the back of her temporary partner for her mission, a slight blush developing on her cheeks as she watched Ms. Lucy study their surroundings with a practiced eye.

Ever since her brother had been taken by followers of Zeref Kagrua had devoted her mind and body to becoming strong enough to save him. Hence why she joined a magical guild and why she fought hard to find a legendary sword tied to tales of revenge, the Archenemy. But despite all the strength she had gathered she knew there were far stronger mages who followed the will of the world's greatest dark mage, which is why she always sought to push herself when it came to missions.

And it was in the pursuit of strength that Kagura learned of some of the greatest women who wielded magic in the current Era and of one guild in particular that seemed to gather the strong, Fairy Tail. The She-Devil, a mage of fearsome strength that stole the strength of her enemies, the Titania, the master of all forms of weaponry…and the Elvish Sniper.

Kagura's gaze once again went back to Lucy of Fairy Tail, an ethereal bow held in her hands and a serious expression on her face. Kagrua had heard tales of the Fairy of the bow, a woman not even twenty years old who had faced down some of the greatest threats in the magical world and had barely flinched. She had taken a direct hit from the Magic Council's greatest weapon, fought in her own guilds battle royal to nearly claim the top position, fought against entire dark guilds including one of the Balam Alliance, but more impressive than anything else, she had destroyed a demon from the book of Zeref.

She was practically a heroine out of the tales her parents used to tell her long ago, and Kagrua couldn't help but be infatuated with her because of it.

"Kagura?" Lucy called out, startling the younger mage from her thoughts and causing her to whip her head up to meet her gaze. "Is there something wrong? You've been staring at the back of my head for quite awhile." The blonde asked with what Kagrua could only assume was legitimate concern in her eyes.

"I-I am perfectly fine Ms. Lucy…I am just curious as to why you were willing to give up this job and are aiding me in hunting it down?" Kagura stuttered, embarrassed to have been called out on her staring.

But despite her embarrassment, her new companion did not pick up on it, instead looking out into the quiet forest through narrowed eyes. "Beyond simply offering aid because it is something a member of Fairy Tail would do?...I have a mission to complete, an objective given to me by my mother years ago that, while I cannot be sure, may have something to do with this request." The blonde mage turned back to stare at Kagrua, a faint smile on her face as she did so. "Besides, there's no reason we can't work together right?"

"Y-Yes! I'll be in your care." Kagura replied with a bow, a slight blush on her face that Loke couldn't help but comment on.

"What's wrong, little miss? Your face is looking pretty red…are you feeling ok? Your not smitten with me are you?" The light elemental coyly asked, Lucy turning around to send a half-hearted glare at her companion.

"Last warning Loke, Mira told me I shouldn't allow you to flirt with girls under the age of eighteen." The blonde elemental mage warned, Loke raising his hands in surrender almost immediately.

"Proud statement; my Mistress is a near perfect example of humanity. I am truly blessed to be bound to you." Kagura heard The Elvish sniper's companion, the woman named Artemis; declare in a neutral tone as she slowly scanned their surroundings.

The four mages continued their search through the forest, Lucy occasionally calling for them to stop as she scanned their surroundings with bowstring drawn back before relaxing and moving on. Eventually the sun began to set on the forest, ending their search for the day with almost nothing to show for it. Kagura had wanted to return to town, as she didn't feel comfortable camping out in an unknown forest with an unknown amount of possibly vicious creatures present but Lucy had assured the younger mage that through a combination of Artemis's tireless watch along with the blondes own elementals they would be fine resting for the evening.

When morning came Kagura was surprised to see that Loke has somehow disappeared in the middle of the night, but when she brought it up to her hero Lucy simply stated that the elemental had returned to his own realm for some rest and might rejoin them later, an explanation that the young swordswoman couldn't help but feel a sense of relief over as the man had been nothing but a hindrance since she had arrived.

It was around mid morning that things finally changed, as the three women found themselves staring at what Kagura could only describe as the remains of a battle against something not human. Deep gashes were carved into both the soil and the trees that surrounded them, likely from claws nearly as long as Kagura was tall based simply off of how deep they were. Scattered about the part of the forest they were standing in were caters deep enough that if she were to fall into them she might actually hurt herself.

Truly, they were hunting a most fearsome creature if it could do all of this and still escape their sight.

It was while Kagura was second guessing her choice to accept this mission that her companions from Fairy Tail got to work. Ms. Lucy instantly narrowed her eyes as she walked over to one of the many gashes and ghosted her hand over the wound. "…Artemis, please map out these attacks and determine the size of the creature."

"Orders received Mistress, mapping in progress." The black haired woman announced as she began to slowly survey the destruction, a strange whinnying noise echoing from her body as she did so.

Kagura couldn't help but clench and unclench her hands, feeling useless as the two mages before her began to work, so she instead chose to ask a question that had been bothering her for the entire morning. "…Ms Lucy? If I may ask; what exactly were you looking for here? What manner of creature were you hoping to find?"

"…A dragon." Lucy answered as she studied a burn mark on the ground, completely oblivious to the chill that swept through the Mermaid Heel mage's heart.

"D-Dragon? Why on earthland would you wish to find one of them?"

"Because my mother wanted me to find them." The blonde continued, looking up to see Kagura's worried expression and smiled slightly. "You don't need to worry, most dragons will do nothing to humans if they see us…unless of course they are the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse…that one you should worry about." She comforted before looking back down at the burn and frowning deeply. "…but based off of these remains we have nothing to fear of dragons…whatever we are hunting is something else."

"How can you tell?" Kagura couldn't help but ask, her earlier fear giving way to curiosity as she kneeled down next to the older blonde.

"These gashes are far too close together to come from the claws of a dragon and there is no uniform element used to inflict this damage…and beyond that I can't feel the telltale magic of dragons nearby." Lucy replied as she stood up and warily watched the surrounding trees.

"Y-you know how to differentiate the magic of dragons from the magic of mages?" Kagura couldn't help but utter in awe, her appreciation for the older mage only growing greater.

"…Something's wrong." Lucy announced, ignoring Kagura's statement as she turned back to Artemis who had just finished her observations. "Artemis, is this…?"

"Wary observation; Mistress, the surrounding destruction is too random and nonuniform to be the work of any single creature. It is this unit's conclusion, based on the fact that no other mages have been dispatched on this mission, that these attacks were planted purposely." The woman announced as she readied her gun, Lucy following suit with her own bow.

"…This is a trap!" Lucy announced, Kagura freezing up for a moment before readying her own weapon for whatever had drawn them here.

And the trap had been sprung apparently, as it was only a second after Lucy announced the truth that they had been lured in that someone, or something, attacked them. From the shadows of the trees an ear-perching screech assaulted Kagura's ears, the young mage crying out in shock as she inadvertently covered her ears.

Despite the high pitched screeching in her head, Kagura somehow looked over to see Lucy covering her ears as well, looking much worse than Kagura felt. And because she was looking over at the blonde mage she saw the figure fly out of the woods. She couldn't make out any details, as the figure was covered in a blood red cloak, but the paper thin, blood red, katana in their hands was a clear indication of their intentions. Lucy seemed to notice their approach, as she tried to turn and bring her bow to bear, but the figure was far too fast and Kagura could only watch in horror as the blade flashed through the air, leaving two massive cuts along the back of Lucy's legs. As Ms. Lucy cried out in pain Kagura couldn't help but gape at the size of the wounds, as the blade that had been used to create the cuts was far too thin to inflict so much damage, so how did…?

"Mistress!" Artemis called out as she recovered, or simply powered through the pain, of the sound based attack and opened fire. The magical bullets tore through the space the man had been occupying, the figure having already retreated into the shadows of the nearby trees. The black haired woman returned to her feet, a furious scowl on her face as she glared into the trees, while her pistol transformed into a massive cannon the likes of which Kagura had never seen. "Threatening statement; you fools who would strike at my Master will suffer! X-66 Terminus!" She shouted as the gun began to collect energy.

But the cannon never fired, instead Kagura watched helplessly as a black aura surrounded the strange woman, Artemis's eyes widening in shock as the weapon fell from her hands.

"Warning; unknown magic effecting circuits…unable to process information at normal levels…strength decreasing drastically…thoughts becoming sluggish…" The woman announced, Kagura noticing the same black aura covering Lucy's form as well.

"This is…Artemis! Get Kagura out of here now!" Lucy ordered as she struggled back to her feet and held her right arm out. "Oh ever shinning light, manifest your champion before me! Come forth Michael!" She shouted, the white gem on her bracer shinning with a bright white light for a brief second before Loke was once again standing before them in full armor, a furious look on his face

"…Blessings of the holy king upon you…  **Radiance of the Pure Dawn**!"He shouted as his body and blade igniting with a brilliant light that Kagura couldn't help but shut her eyes.

"No Ms. Lucy, I cannot leave you here by yourself! Let us escape together!" Kagura shouted back.

"I can't, they severed my tendons in my legs to keep me from leaving and as such I can no longer stand under my own power." Lucy answered as Loke picked her up and slung her over her shoulder. "There are too many unknowns for us to engage…Don't worry, they wont be able to kill me that quickly." Lucy continued, her tone sounding like she was about to pass out at any moment. "But I need…F-Fairy Tail…so…A-Artemis…go!"

"…Orders received…" Kagura could hear the black haired woman answer, sounding like she was on the verge of tears, before feeling two arms snake around her stomach. "Forgive me Ms. Kagura, as we will be traveling faster than most humans are capable of withstanding in order to obtain aid." The black haired woman apologized as Kagura heard some kind of deep rumbling noise coming from the woman's back.

"No! Wait, don't do it!" Kagura tried to shout as out of nowhere her body was assaulted by a sudden acceleration, her vision beginning to black out as they began to fly though the air.  _No…why does everyone sacrifice themselves so I can escape...I'm so sorry._ Kagura couldn't help but cry out in her heart, her mind going back to the thoughts of her brother and the crimson haired girl who had sacrificed herself that faithful day before she completely blacked out.

* * *

"I see…" Makarov muttered quietly, his fury at one of his children being attacked clear in his voice. The Infirmary was deathly quiet after the teen mage finished her tale. Erza and Gray looked like they wanted to tear something apart with their bare hands while Wendy looked nervously down at her clenched hands.

Natsu…couldn't react; he could barely accept what the little girl said. Luce, one of the toughest, downright craziest, mages in Fairy Tail might of gotten taken out just like that? Who the hell were they up against?

But the fire dragon slayer didn't have time to worry for too long, as the Master slammed his staff into the wooden floor to draw everyone's attention. "Children! One of our family has been attacked and needs our help! Who will go to her aid?" he questioned, every single person in the small room with his guilds emblem on their bodies roaring in response. And while Natsu may not have reacted visibly, the inside of his head was swarming with different emotions. "Natsu," The master continued, drawing the fire dragon slayer from his thoughts. "I will send others to search the town and its surroundings. I want you, Gray, Erza, Wendy, Juvia, and Gajeel to head to the place where this fight has taken place. With your enhanced senses you three will be able to track where Lucy has been taken…give them hell Natsu."

"Aye sir!" Natsu growled back, an almost cruel smile on his face as he smashed his fists together.

"Master Makarov, please allow me to accompany your team in the retrieval of Ms. Lucy." Kagura requested as she struggled to rise from the bed, the old Wizard Saint staring at her solemnly for a moment before shaking his head.

"I'm afraid I cannot allow that child."

"But Maste-."

"You have barely recovered from being attacked by these unknown mages, and are the sole reason we know of an attack on our family. I couldn't allow you to leave in good conscience." Makarov interrupted before smiling patiently. "Do not worry child, we will burn down the entire forest if that's what is necessary to find Lucy…and since Natsu here is the one going it's a good chance that will happen anyway." He continued, sighing heavily while Natsu nearly nodded in agreement before he managed to catch himself in order to avoid being crushed once again.

At first Kagura looked like she wanted to continue to argue for her presence on the retrieval team, the hand not holding her blade clenched tightly in front of her chest. But after a few seconds she appeared to relent, nodding at the Master before fixing a hard stare on Natsu. "Mr. Dragneel, I entrust Ms. Lucy's rescue to you…do not fail her."

"Heh, don't need any brat to tell me that." Natsu bragged with a confident grin. "Of course I'll go save my partner, you can count on that!"

The train ride to the site of Lucy's job was much tenser than normal, and not just because of two nauseous dragon slayers that were constantly trying to fight despite the fact that their faces were alternating between shades of green and white. Wendy had at times tried to make conversation with Erza or Gray, attempting to distract everyone from the fact that Lucy was missing, but most of her attempts were met with short to the point replies. No one was truly comfortable with the situation, and the longer it took them to arrive the worse off they were.

The moment the train arrived Natsu all but burst out the doors with Happy right on his heels, the fire dragon slayer testing the air cautiously, his eyes going wide as he recognized the faint smell of his partner. "Happy, Luce's been through here! Let's go get her!" he shouted, the blue Exceed by his feet shouting out an "Aye Sir!" and preparing to carry Natsu off into the forest but was stopped when Erza grabbed the two of them.

"Stop it you fools, rushing off into a forest that may still be filled with enemies is the epitome of stupidity." The red headed woman warned, Gray scoffing as he watched the two sulk.

"Then shouldn't you let them go then? Cause' that is kinda their thing after all." The ice wizard joked, everyone present ignoring Natsu's indignant yell. But contrary to the joking attitude they were displaying, there was an undeniable tenseness to the group. They all knew that Lucy was out there somewhere, possibly fighting for her life, and that fact at the back of their minds was unnerving enough that they couldn't help but try and make light of the situation.

After confirming with the mayor of the town where the mission was located, the old man who ran the town all but breaking down the moment they informed him that the mission was a trap, the mages of Fairy Tail slowly began to make their way into the woods.

It wasn't long until Natsu paused, his nose twitching slightly as he picked up the faint traces of his blonde partner. "Luce's been through here…not recently but at least it's there." Natsu commented grimly, Wendy and Gajeel pausing and sniffing their surroundings themselves.

"Oh! Your right! I can smell Ms. Lucy!" Wendy shouted out in excitement, reigning in her emotions the moment Carla gently reprimanded the young dragon slayer.

"I see…then we need to be prepared for battle. Remember everyone; there is a high probability that foes of our guild are still inside the forest…be on your guard." Erza warned in a no nonsense tone of voice, Gajeel scoffing before grinning widely.

"I don't take orders from you woman! I'ma dragon slayer! Not some pansy ass weakling from our guild." The Iron Dragon slayer replied, Gray and Natsu freezing up at the fool's disrespectful tone while Erza turned to glare at the black haired man with a look so cold that Natsu almost thought the air in between them was freezing over despite the fact that Gray was nowhere near them.

"Oh? Care to say that again Gajeel? It almost sounded like you were disobeying my orders." Erza tried to clarify, the tone of her voice promising violence on anyone who continued to refuse her orders.

And Gajeel, despite being dumber than Natsu in the fire dragon slayer's opinion, clearly picked up on that, his back going ramrod straight as a cold sweat broke out on his forehead. "A-aye ma'am!" he shouted, Pantherlily sighing in disappointment at his partner's immediate reversal.

The five mages continued to follow the scent, Natsu leading their group at a barely contained pace, and it wasn't long until signs of Lucy's battle became more obvious. A multitude of stone spears sticking out of the ground, clearing where the ground had been flooded by a surplus of water, the occasional spot that looked like it had suffered through a localized twister, but no matter what signs of battle they discovered they were unable to locate a single blonde hair. And after over an hour of no signs of Lucy Natsu was finally starting to lose what little patience he had.

"Damn it, where the hell is she?" He eventually all but screamed in frustration, slamming his fist into the nearest tree and leaving a slightly scorch mark on its bark. "They couldn't…Luce wouldn't lose to stupid mages! She's got that weave thingy and all so why can't we find her!"

"Mr. Natsu, please calm yourself. Juvia is certain that Ms. Lucy is fine. After all, she is Juvia's love rival and cannot be taken down so lightly." The rain woman calmly refuted, Natsu's scowl only deepening at the water mages attempt to calm him.

"She's right Flame Brain, there's no reason to think that Lucy lost just yet…maybe she just went to ground or somethin'." Gray added, although his narrowed eyes and clenched fists clearly showed that he didn't quite believe in what he was saying.

Natsu opened his mouth, intending to both refute the Ice mage while also insult him, but stopped when his ears picked up on something…a faint sound of leaves being brushed against something. "Hang on guys," Natsu called out, his tone serious enough that the others stopped. "There's something…weird…something smells off." The fire dragon slayer announced as he got a whiff of something vaguely familiar.

It wasn't the scent of his partner, although he occasionally got a whiff of her strange combination of strawberries and a hint of blood here and there, but something about the new scent was almost…comforting in its familiarity.

And that's when the dragon slayer realized it, it was familiar because it was the same basic scent that wafted off of every dragon slayer; the scent of dragons.

"We're not alon-!" Natsu tried to warn the others, but whoever he had scented decided it was time to make their move.

The group watched in shock as a short hooded figure rushed out of the bushes with such speed that they were mostly a blur. The figure didn't hesitate before grabbing Natsu's face and slamming him into the ground with an almost sickening crunch before kicking him into a nearby tree. Erza was the first of the others to react, summoning one of her blades and rushing up to the new figure and swinging for their chest. But much to the shock of everyone present the hooded fighter actually managed to get out of the way in time.

"Who are you? Why are you attacking us?" Erza demanded as she pointed her blade at the attacker, requiping into her Heaven's Wheel armor while the others besides Natsu took combat stances as well, the fire dragon slayer barely managing to stagger back to his feet despite his newfound bad headache. The figure for their part simply remained silent and raised their hands in front of them in a clear combat stance, their intentions obvious. "Very well…take them alive, we need to interrogate them!" The scarlet haired mage ordered, the rescue team moving in to attack.

Gajeel was the first to close the distance, a feral grin on the iron dragon slayers face as he transformed his arm into a club and attempted to bash the newcomers head in. but whoever was attacking them clearly had other plans other than being hit by such an obvious attack. Quickly sidestepping the telegraphed attack, the figures hands shot out from beneath their cloak to lash out at Gajeel's shocked face, the water wrapped around their hands somehow inflicting more damage than they should have based off the fact that Gajeel too was sent flying backwards into a tree.

"Water mage huh? Then this should be a snap!" Gray mocked as he took his own stance and sent a multitude of ice spears raining down on the unknown fighter. But as before the figure wasn't even remotely disturbed by the rain of attacks. Instead they simply dodged each icy attack with the slimmest of margins or simply using their water infused hands to brush aside the attacks, their movements almost carrying the same grace, almost like they were dancing instead of dodging magic. And the moment that Gray's attack came to an end they made their move, rushing forward with the same level of speed as before clearly intending to attack Gray, but was intercepted by an magically enhanced Erza courtesy of Wendy.

Erza had intended to get in between Gray and the unknown mage, to take them by surprise and force them at sword point to surrender, but to her shock the figure reacted much faster than she anticipated, twisting out of the way of her magically enhanced steel and landing a foot or so away.  _They're fast, and they clearly know their way around a fight…this could be bad._ She grimly realized as Juvia rushed in as well.

"Juvia will not lose to another water mage with my beloved Gray watching… **Water Slicer**!" she shouted, throwing a blade of water at the still unknown figure. But surprisingly the figure did not use their impressive agility to avoid the attack as they had been doing. No, instead they almost seemed to relax at the sight of the deadly fluid blade barreling forward at them.

And when the blade was only a few inches from landing the stranger did something that at first confused all those present while also triggering a sense of familiarity in each of the gathered Fairy Tail mages; the figure began to suck the water straight out of the air, the blade of water losing its form and disappearing into the shadows of their hood.

A stunned silence settled over the forest as the Fairy Tail mages watched the stranger wipe a hand across their hidden face, a quiet belch echoing out from beneath the hood, but that silence was shattered when Gajeel opened his mouth. "What the hell? A damn slayer?"

"That's what I was trying to say before!" Natsu complained as he finally figured out which way was up and jumped back up, growling at the tiny figure who had gotten the drop on him. "They smell like us; kinda like a dragon but not." He continued as his fists ignited in rage. "Don't know who you are…but if you're here then you're an enemy of Fairy Tail!" The fire dragon slayer announced as he launched forward intending to slam his fist into the bastards face. But the figure was more than ready for the attack, the water around their hands thickening as they raised their own fist to block him, the water evaporating in a flash as their fists made contact. "Talk! What the hell did you guys do to Luce?"

Natsu wasn't sure why, but the figure tensed up for a moment at the mention of his blonde partner, a reaction that confused him enough to cause him to pause in his attacks in confusion. Unfortunately, that pause was all the time the figure needed to leap away from the combat by using Natsu's body as a springboard to spin backwards away from the now thoroughly pissed off fire dragon slayer.

"Alright that does it!" Natsu finally shouted as he crouched low, gathered his flames around his arms, and launched forward with all the speed he could muster. " **Fire Dragon's wing at-.** "

"I'm done fighting." The figure interrupted, raising their hands in the universal sign of surrender as they did so.

" **-tack-awha?** ** _"_** Natsu so elegantly continued as he stumbled forward, past the former attacker, and face first into a tree.

"Wow…so are you one of those so called special people? Cause' that was kinda sad." The figure insulted with a scoff. Without adrenaline coursing through his veins, Natsu could hear from the tone of the figures voice that they were young, at least around Wendy's age, and was definitely a girl. But more importantly they clearly lacked Wendy's friendliness, their voice filled with so much annoyance and contempt that even Natsu was able to pick up on it…plus her insult did kina make her personality all the more obvious.

"Oi!" Natsu returned indignantly as he jumped back up, trying hard to ignore the pain in his forehead from where he impacted the tree. "I'm not dumb like that!...although pop's did always say I was special but I'm sure he didn't mean it like that…right?" Natsu continued, before turning his question to his fellow Fairy Tail mages, Gray snorting before giving the fire dragon slayer an incredulous stare.

"Are you kidding? You're practically the poster child for dumb." The Ice mage added, Gajeel nodding along with a smirk on his face. Natsu, having practically forgotten about the new slayer in front of him, stepped forward to beat some sense into the black haired teen, but before he could even close the distance Erza stepped in between them, a furious scowl on her face.

"Enough you two! Cease you foolishness or I will have the Master force "That" punishment on you when we return!" The red head threatened, all three men freezing up and standing almost at attention at the mere thought of the old man's punishment. Not a second later Erza turned her attention to the still hooded slayer, who was still casually standing there with her hands in the air. "And you; you attack us without even confirming our identities, harm our members, and then simply decide you are done?" Erza accused, the figure simply shrugging in indifference.

"While I don't really care about what you idiots think, but I had my reasons. Plus you dumbasses were so loud walking through here that even if I wasn't a slayer I would've found you without trying. Were you guys trying to attract everyone in the forest or something? Or are you just that dumb?" The girl continued, her tone dripping with so much sarcasm that the Fairy Tail mages could practically hear the smirk on her lips.

"How dare you! You will identify yourself and reveal why you attacked us or I will force you to talk!" Erza commanded, her fury growing to nearly unprecedented heights.

The new slayer finally lowered their hands as they regarded Erza for a moment before finally shrugging. "Eh, while it's kinda cute to think someone like you could fight me I guess I don't really have any reason not to tell you at this point." They thought out loud as one hand reached up to remove their hood, revealing a girl who looked to be around Wendy's age. Her hair was short, only just barely reaching past her neck and the same color as the leaves that surrounded them, a dark green. Her eyes were red, nearly the same color as Gajeel's, and the gaze of barely concealed contempt in them made nearly everyone staring at her want to take a step back. "So…I guess I should say hi or something? Name's Tiria Irving, I'm a water dragon slayer raised by a dragon that went by the name Apalala…or I guess you losers would know me better as Subject Six." The girl introduced herself, the silence that followed her casual introduction so complete that even the non slayers would've picked up on a pin dropping.

"You…y-you are one of…" Juvia started to confirm, Tiria scoffing and crossing her arms as she regarded her fellow water mage.

"One of the little bastards that came from the Heartfilia Institute? Yep, the last subject of their twisted little experiments." The green haired girl confirmed, her casual tone offset by the cold fury in her gaze. "But you guys don't really care about that? You're here to find Lucy too right?"

"Right, Luce! Do you know where she is? Tell us!" Natsu shouted, his mind finally kicking back into gear at the strange slayers mention of his blonde partner.

"No, I don't…but I do know who attacked her." The water dragon slayer confirmed, her tone finally matching the serious look in her eyes. "There's only a few people in Fiore who would know how exactly to fight against the first subject of the Institute…and even fewer who can actually pull somethin' like this off…chiefly the man who created us."

The deafening silence returned as everyone processed what exactly the slayer was implying. "M-Ms. Irving…are you saying that Ms. Lucy has…" Juvia finally stuttered, the green haired slayer nodding in reply.

"Ya…Lucy got caught by the other subjects of the Institute."

* * *

Despite the fact that under normal circumstances she would be beyond panicked by her situation, Lucy couldn't help but regard her captors with a level of calmness that shocked even her. It might have been due to Dragon Lucy influencing her mind, or perhaps it was simply the blonde slayer following the example of their red headed team leader, Erza's near unflappable calmness a standard that Lucy had always wished she could follow.

Or it could be the dagger comprised of human blood sticking out of the center of her chest, she honestly couldn't tell which one.

The dagger wasn't too large, and despite being comprised of pure bodily fluids, the fact that it had been left in her body was forcing the Weave to constantly try to repair the damage and hence constantly keeping her magic at its lowest levels and therefore unable to fight back.

Loke had tried to get her out of there, the two mages using their light based Elemental Magic to fight off the strange but familiar black magic, but the unknown enemies had been prepared for every eventuality that Lucy could come up with. As they continued their retreat Lucy determined that after another burst of blood blew a crater where she had been standing that it was time to make a break for it. Unfortunately, the enemies appeared to know in advance that she would arrive at that conclusion, as the moment Lucy tense with her newly repaired legs they attacked with some kind of magical chains, binding the Elemental summoner just long enough for the blood mage to rush forward and stab her in the chest. Causing her to quickly black out as their blood invaded her body and forced the Weave to fight off the invaders.

And that was how Lucy now found herself in the back of a wagon, her hands bound behind her back and a bloody dagger sticking out of her chest, a sight that even she would have found strange if she had happened upon someone in her condition.

She wasn't sure where she was anymore, as she hadn't been conscious when they placed her in the carriage, but from the tiny beams of light that filtered down through the canvas that covered the wagon she was certain it had been at least a day since her battle and as such Artemis would've arrived at the guild and had likely already informed the others as to what had happened, she just needed to wait for reinforcements to arrive.

But yet, at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a sense of almost…dread, that was the word, dread at the thought of the others fighting against these unknowns. The level of coordination, the magic they used, their knowledge of her thought process, they weren't just any dark mages looking for revenge on Lucy's guild.

And to compound her fears their magic stirred a sense of nostalgia within the blonde mage, and anything that could bring forward that emotion could only be linked to…

 _No, it's not possible. Don't think about them Lucy._ The blonde tried to stop her errant thoughts from growing out of control.  _There's no way that they survived that fire, they can't…they couldn't have._

But in that moment, almost as if the world itself sought to mock her, voices began to grow louder as figures approached the cart. Voices that caused Lucy's breathing to hitch at their familiarity.

"Ohhh! I am so excited Vincent! We finally found her! We can almost be a family again!" An excited voice of a younger girl echoed from beyond the thin fabric, a voice that Lucy recognized but refused to accept.

"Calm down Two, we need to bring her to Father for processing before she can once again truly join us." Another voice, this time a male around Lucy's age, replied. Their voice firm but also carrying an undercurrent of excitement.

"Mmmmm, I know that! But she…she's back! And we don't have to ever let her go again!" The girl replied as someone pulled away the cloth at the back of the cart, momentarily blinding the blonde mage as the sun entered her eyes. "Right, Big Sister Lucy?"

"…No…I-It cant be." Lucy breathlessly tried to deny as she gazed at the two phantoms before her, her mind unable to process their forms standing there in the afternoon glare. "…Priscilla…Vincent?"

The girl seemed to freeze up for a moment at Lucy's mutterings before tears began to leak from her big blue eyes as she all but threw herself on top of the utterly dumbfounded blonde, not caring at all about the fact that she inadvertently forced the blood dagger deeper into the bonds chest at the contact. "You remember me! Oh thank Father, I was afraid that those light guild dummies made you forget all about us!" Priscilla cried out as she drew back, a warm smile on her face as she whipped her head around to stare at the boy. "She remembers Brother!"

"Yes, I can clearly see that." The boy grumbled sounding almost annoyed an impression that was lessened by the grin on his face. The boy was both taller and lankier than Lucy remembered, but his head of short red hair and kind brown eyes were unmistakable. "I apologize One, in order to keep your Weave from allowing you fighting us for a longer period of time I had to use my blood binding spell on you. Though with your ability to nullify pain I'm certain that it can't be too uncomfortable for you."

"N-no…this isn't real." Lucy tried to deny, shaking her head rapidly as she fought off the memories that were now assaulting her, flashes of memories of her time in her dark, damp cell rising to the forefront of her mind along with the images of other children each of who stared up at Lucy with warm gazes. "Y-you all died that day…my fire…"

"Oh! You mean when you burned our old home down? When you killed all the bad guys who didn't understand Father's vision?" Priscilla clarified, placing a dainty finger on her chin as she thought back to that faithful day. "It was really scary at first, your fire washed into the room and made all the bad scientists go "pop!" almost like they were popcorn!" The younger girl giggled, cupping her hands in front of her chest before flinging them upwards in excitement. "Ahhh, it was so beautiful to see, the power big Sister released, the killing intent, the evil people dying by the droves as your flames washed over them. I thought it wouldn't be so bad if we all died by your fire…but before the flames reached us Father came in to save us and got us out of there! We tried to look for you after we recovered from the love burns you gave us but by then all the bad people from the council got to you." The brown haired girl continued with a brief pout before giggling lightly. "I killed a few of them because I was so upset that they took you away!"

"Two; we don't need to talk about the past now, it just interferes with our mission." Vincent commented with a resigned sigh, Priscilla gasping in as she realized what the older assassin was getting at.

"Oh right! I'm so embarrassed! Droning on like that…I'm so sorry Sister! It must be so boring to listen to me prattle on like this, particularly when we have such an important engagement waiting for us!"

"E-Engagement? What…what do you mean?" Lucy tried to clarify; trying desperately to latch onto anything to keep her mind functioning properly, to not linger on the facts that while she hadn't murdered the people she cared about while those same people had attacked her.

"Oh yes! A very important meeting with Father! He was beside himself when he heard that you were a member of Fairy Tail and pleaded with us to free you from their control." Priscilla continued with a smile, Lucy's mind racing to figure try and make sense of the situation so that she didn't have to face the horror of the truth that was slowly dawning on her.

"Priscilla…What are you talking about, who is this Father person?"

Vincent and Priscilla both stared at Lucy like she had gone insane, an idea that was sounding more and more appealing when compared to her current situation. "What are you saying One? Father is Father; the head of the former Heartfilia Institute and the man who made us into what we are today, Jude Heartfilia."

The color drained from Lucy's face as the name, that horrible name, passed the lips of one of her fellow child assassins.  _No…it can't be…he…he was right there when I lost control…he couldn't have survived!_

Priscilla smiled down at Lucy, taking her silence to be acceptance, and kneeled back down to hug her once again. "That's right Sister! Soon you can once again be a part of our family!...and if anyone from that evil little guild you were in comes for you then we can just kill them!" The girl continued the smile on her face almost heartwarming if one were to ignore the context behind it.

Lucy couldn't help but shudder as she shut her eyes, trying desperately to ignore the crushing weight of her new reality.  _No…Oh god no…Natsu, everyone, you have to stay away…please don't die for my sake!_ She couldn't help but plea to whatever entity would listen, the carriage she was in jostling slightly as they got back underway.


	25. Chapter 25

The walk back to the local in was so strange that even Natsu was able to pick up on it, even if he was vibrating with such barely constrained rage that he was having trouble containing himself. Erza, Gray, and the others kept making faces that were alternating between worry and suspicion, while Tiria looked almost bored, her hands over her head while she whistled a tune that seemed almost designed to grate on Natsu's nerves.

A part of him, hell most of him if he was being completely honest, wanted to just grab the little witch by her cloak and shake her until she gave up Luce's location. Sure, she was kinda strong and all that, and Luce might get mad at him for hurting another survivor of that institute place she grew up, but the damn little slayer was holding out on them!

After dropping her little bomb about Luce being captured by the Heartfilia Institute Tiria had insisted that they go back to the inn for the night and rest. Erza had tried to argue against that plan, saying that they needed to rush to Lucy's aid, but Tiria had simply turned her head away and said that she wouldn't talk unless she got something to eat and a nap. Erza had been practically been foaming at the mouth at the green-haired girls disrespect, but she eventually gave in and began to lead them back to town.

Damn it all! Luce's out there, hurt or somethin' but here we are just wasting our time on food!...ok, I might be a little hungry too after that quick fight and all but still!

"So, do you always look this stupid or is this just because you're thinking more than normal?" Natsu's thoughts were interrupted when Tiria decided to stop whistling only to mock him.

Natsu couldn't help himself this time, he really did whirl around and grab the girl by her shirt, his fire burning to life around him as he growled at the girl in his hands. "What the hell was that? You lookin' for another fight?" he threatened.

However, Tiria didn't seem disturbed in the slightest, casually staring at him before gazing up at the sky. "Honestly, I ask a simple question and he freaks out…I really can't see what she sees in you losers." She muttered under hear breath, likely knowing full well that all the slayers around her could hear her, before glaring down at Natsu with a expression full of contempt. "I was just worried you were going to burn yourself out thinking too hard. Wouldn't want you to go down before the real fighting starts."

"Huh? What the hell are you talkin' about? I'm not gonna lose to anyone, least of all my own brain!" Natsu shouted back as their group came to a stop, Erza watching the enraged fire dragon slayer carefully in case he lost control.

"Heh, could've fooled me. Especially since you were giving such a piss poor showing during that last fight." The water dragon slayer continued to mock, Natsu's gaze turning red in anger for a brief moment as he considered actually punching her in the face.

However, before he could even pull back his arm, Gray's hand stopped him. "Knock it off Natsu, this isn't gonna get us anywhere."

"Natsu…please." Happy whined from his spot on the ground, the blue Exceed's face filled with worry for their missing partner.

Natsu's anger disappeared faster than flames doused in water, the fire dragon slayer releasing a deep breath before lowering the infuriating slayer.

"Thought so." Tiria said, her voice sounding almost…disappointed? Sad? Natsu couldn't quite make it out. But before he could think too long on it the girl brushed past him. "Now if your done can we get back to town? I'm starving."

"Hold for a moment." Erza commanded, the water dragon slayer turning back with a look on her face that lacked any patience. "I understand that you require food, and have acquiesced to your request, but please…please tell us what exactly has happened to our friend." Erza pleaded, actually bowing her head in a show of submission that no one present would've expected from her in a thousand years.

"Please, we would do anything to help our friend. Please give us something." Wendy added in, tears in the corners of her eyes as she begged.

The forest was silent more a tense moment, the green haired slayer watching the two Fairy Tail mages with a complex expression while the other members watched her with anticipation. But finally, the girl seemed to give in, sighing heavily as she ran a hand down her face. "…you all were too obvious in your stunts. You brought attention to her in the worst way possible."

"What does that mean? Attention to Lucy? Why does that matter?" Gray questioned, his face serious now that they were finally getting the girl talking, Natsu more than willing to hold back his anger if it meant getting some answers.

"Because you guys don't understand the kinds of people that made up the institute." Tiria answered with an annoyed expression. "The mages at the Institute aren't like your average dark mages. They aren't just some misguided idiot who thinks that a few tattoos and some kind of dark magic makes them a badass. They're real deal."

"And you are as well? One of these "real deal" mages?" Erza clarified, Tiria scoffing as she kicked at a nearby stick.

"Before I was ten I killed more than nine people, that answer your question?" Tiria shot back, the others recoiling as if they were struck.

"No way…t-ten?" Wendy whispered as her hands shot to her mouth, the tears that had gathered in her eyes now falling freely.

"Yep ten. Actually, it was only a few days after Apalak abandoned me now that I think about it." Tiria confirmed before shaking her head. "Ah, never mind, that's not important. the point is that Jude Heartfilia, the bastard who ran that hellhole, was always looking out for info on his little loss kids… and you idiots practically put a spotlight on the one he really wanted. the moment he figured out where exactly his precious "Subject One" was he started making plans, and that's what happened here."

"But why take Lucy back, surely he knew that harming a member of Fairy Tail would draw our wrath. Why would he risk it?" Erza question, her question mirroring the one in Natsu's head. People knew that Fairy Tail was really strong so why would anyone take their members.

But Tiria's answer was completely against everything he was thinking about. "Because like I said, he has real dark mages in his pocket. And assassinating a few light guild members to get what he wants would be really just too easy for him."

"Assassinate!? He would dare to do such a horrendous thing?" Erza practically screamed in fury.

"Yep, and now that he has Lucy he's sure to step up his game."

"And what the hell kinda game is that?" Gajeel questioned.

"…That's a good question, maybe we can find out before we beat him to death."

"Ehh? You don't know?" Natsu couldn't help himself as he muttered in a shocked voice, Tiria turning a scornful gaze on the fire dragon slayer.

"No, why the hell would I? I was just one of his pawns, and the youngest one to boot. He gave us missions and we carried them out if we didn't want to be hurt" She shot back before her gaze softened and her eyes closed. "I don't know his goal, I don't want to know, all I do know is that we need to get Lucy back. And if we're gonna do that then we need to be at full strength."

Tiria opened her eyes then, turning her gaze to each of them in turn. "Fighting against the other subjects will be harder than anything you've done in your life Fairy Tail, but it isn't a fight you can run from, not unless you want to see the return of the true Subject One."

* * *

"…and after we extracted all the information Father requested we ended his life. Remember Sister Lucy? It was one of the first missions we all went on after all." Priscilla recounted with barely contained excitement. Ever since they had discovered that she had awoken the younger girl had been talking non-stop, and while she wasn't exactly upset to see the younger girl so excited, even Lucy was able to understand that you weren't supposed to talk about assassinations in such a happy voice.

"Yes, I do, it was the first mission in Pergrande after all." Lucy replied, trying desperately to keep her voice neutral and her anxiety hidden. She still had the blood dagger sticking out of her chest and as such could not muster the magical strength to even free herself, let alone attack. And even if she could, she doubted that she could ever raise a hand against two people that were practically her brother and sister, even if there was no blood between them. Tiamat had instructed her to protect the other children of the institute, and as such she could never raise her hand against Priscilla or Vincent.

And that left her with very few options when it came to escaping. She would need to find some way to distract them for a moment, miraculously recover her magical energy, and escape from two highly trained magical assassins and make it back to her friends while evading them.

 _Warning, advise primary consciousness to remain inert for the foreseeable feature. Probability of harm in considered strategy is high_. Dragon Lucy warned, its cold voice echoing through her consciousness. It really did seem like she had no choice but to just wait for an opening…and if what the excitable brown-haired teen in front of her was correct, that chance would come when they presented her to "Him".

"Oh, I just knew you would remember Sister Lucy! Those were truly happier days, back when all of us together cut down all the bad men…" Priscilla's voice was filled with sorrow for a moment, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes, but she bounced back just as quickly. "But now that your back I'm sure Father will search for Sister Tiria and Sister Brandish!"

Lucy's head shot up at that, this new information something she could not ignore. Tiria and Brandish aren't with them?...then that means Jude Heartfilia was only able to recover Priscilla and Vincent from the fire…but what happened to the two of them? How did they get out? She couldn't help but question in her head, making sure to keep all her inner turmoil off her face. "I see…maybe he will, it would be good to see the other's again." She admitted, not entirely lying when she said she would like to see the other kids again, both of the mentioned girls having been only about six the last time the blonde mage had seen them.

"I see…so then where are you taking me? Back to the old Institute?" Lucy asked, her tone neutral and calm, trying to get whatever information out of them that she could.

"Of course, not silly! We're going to our new home that Father made for us in the sky!"

Lucy's hear immediately sank at that, a look of dread passing over her face for a brief moment before she smothered the emotion. "I-In the sky?"

Priscilla opened her mouth, likely to confirm Lucy's fear, but before she could say anything the carriage came to a stop, both girls leaning forward slightly at the unexpected stop. After a few seconds of tense silence, the back flaps of the cart parted to reveal an exhausted looking Vincent.

"One, Two, we've reached the rendezvous point. Our extraction should be only a few minutes away." The blood mage announced as he held out his hand in Lucy's direction. Do you require aid in leaving the carriage One? If so I would be happy to help."

I can't escape like this…especially with my hands bound and this dagger still in my chest. Lucy decided as she allowed her fellow magic assassin to help her out of her seat, the teenage dark mage surprisingly gentle considering the fact that it was his blood dagger sticking out of her chest. The two of them were quickly joined by Priscilla who practically sprang from the back of their transport, and all three turned their heads to the sky at the dull thrum of mechanical parts moving. And while neither of her companions seemed shocked at the sight slowly emerging from the darkening sky, Lucy couldn't help but blink owlishly in surprise.

A massive airship was slowly floating down in their direction, an airship that sent cold shivers down Lucy's spine. The airship that was slowly descending was nearly the exact opposite of Blue Pegasus's airship, the Cristina. Its outer hull was completely covered in a dull gray steel, the bolts holding the armor in place making it look like it was covered in spikes. Its sails, the cloth that comprised them even darker than the sky around them, billowed slightly in the wind only adding to the ships ominous appearance.

It was a vessel of war if Lucy had ever seen one, a ship whose only purpose was to destroy and intimidate.

"Oh! Look Sister Lucy! Our home now is approaching! The Oblivion." Priscilla explained as she began to jump up and down in excitement. "I'm sure you'll love it here Sister, and before long we can be a family again! With no mean light mages or anyone to get between us…and if someone does then I will simply kill them!"

Priscilla had called it a home, but Lucy could see it for what it was, a prison, a place designed to keep her contained no matter what.

I don't think I'll be able to escape anytime soon…I…I might need to consider returning to the same strategy I used when I was last captured. Lucy couldn't help but admit in defeat as a dingy was launched from the Oblivion only to land in front of them a few minutes later, a group of thugs exiting the ship only to glare at everything around them.

"This the chick?" One of them asked as he stepped forward, marking him as a possible leader.

"This is the current retrieval objective yes, Subject One." Vincent announced in a cold, clinical tone, his eyes narrowing as he glared at the scruffy man.

"right then…Lads! Get this bitch on board, we ain't got all day!" The man shouted to his fellows, a few of them grunting in response as they moved in to roughly grab Lucy's arms…and one reached for her rear? What purpose would that have in securing her?

"Heh, shame she's so important to that bastard…she'd make some fine entertain- ugh!" The man, presumably the one who had reached for her derriere, had started to say before being interrupted by a dagger being forced through his chest, the man's blood landing on Lucy's startled face as he fell to the ground.

Lucy didn't bother to look at the dying, or likely already dead, man and instead turned her attention to his assailant, a gently smiling Priscilla who was cleaning the blood off of the dagger in her hand.

"…Two, what did Father say about needless killings? We do need these men to keep the ship afloat after all." Vincent asked with a heavy sigh, the other men who had come from the ship all backing away with pale faces.

"Oh, I remember Brother Vincent. However, I simply couldn't allow such an ugly, ugly man to ruin our precious sister like that! If he had simply kept his grubby hands to himself I wouldn't have needed to try and gut him!" Priscilla returned with a giggle before stepping forward and with a clean headkerchief began to clean the blood from the blonde mages face. "I couldn't face Father if I allowed Lucy to be corrupted while we could've stopped it…it was bad enough that those light guild bad people got their hands on her after all."

The group was silent for a moment, both Lucy and the sailors simply too shocked by the sudden murder to do much of anything, but whatever spell had ensnared them broke when Vincent sighed again.

"True enough, I admit that if you hadn't killed him I was planning to make his blood boil. But next time ensure that you inform a superior before assassinating them, either myself or One here."

"Yes…I'm sorry." The brown-haired girl apologized with a slight pout, Vincent nodding in satisfaction before turning a confused glance to the leader of the men.

"…is there some reason you have stopped our preparations for takeoff? You all only need to worry about running the ship, we will handle Subject One."

The leader of the pirates, as Dragon Lucy had determined that they were indeed sky pirates, didn't respond at first. Instead he simply glared daggers at Priscilla and Vincent. But eventually he sighed and turned to his men. "Get ready for takeoff lads, we ain't got all day!" He shouted, the men jumping slightly before moving to obey.

But Lucy didn't care about what the non-threats were doing and instead she was still trying to process what she had just seen. N-no way…Priscilla, the same girl who would cry when even I was taken for experimentation, just killed without hesitation? What have they done to them?

"I'm so sorry you had to endure that Sister Lucy. But now that awful, awful man is dead so it's all better!" Priscilla apologized with a far too bright smile, and for once Lucy's mind was unable to react, the terror of the situation too much for even Dragon Lucy to manage.

.

.

.

The inside of the ship was just as unsettling as the outside, as with its close quarters and darkened steel only added to its terrifying appearance. It also didn't help that Lucy was barely conscious at this point, her dragon slayer magic making her incredibly nauseous as she was carried deeper into the ship with surprisingly care. Priscilla had panicked the moment after takeoff when Lucy's motion sickness hit her full swing and as such she had all but demanded that Vincent carry her, a task that the other assassin had been all too willing to do.

"I'm so sorry One, I had forgotten about the detriments of Dragon Slayer Magic. While unforgivable, I hope that one day you will find it in your heart to forgive me." The blood mage apologized, Lucy too nervous and sick to respond. Occasionally she would see some of the pirates maneuvering through the ship, clearly trying to avoid getting in Priscilla's way, but she hadn't seen any sign of the man she was both dreading to see, and the man she needed to find.

 _With nearly all my escape routes cut off, my only chance of escape is to…is to assassinate Jude Heartfilia and escape in the ensuring chaos._ Lucy thought with a shiver, dreading her actions to come.  _Surely…surely the Master would understand…right?_ While Lucy didn't feel any hesitation over the thought of taking another life, she did feel anxiety over the thought of losing her place in Fairy Tail by going against the Masters wishes. She would lose everything, her friends, her home, Erza, Gray, Wendy…Natsu.

But in the end, if she needed to lose the place that finally excepted her in order to finally bury her past, then she would do so. Even if that meant that she would have to leave her home.

Lucy's thoughts were interrupted then when Vincent arrived at what Lucy could only assume was their destination, a black door that was no different than any of the others they had passed. But Lucy could feel it, a mixture of terror and fear that she hadn't experienced in nearly ten years.

The fear of the man who made her into what she was today. The man who had ran the Institute that created her.

Priscilla stepped forward and with a massive grin on her face knocked on the metal door. "Ohhh Father~! We've brought Sister Lucy! May we come in?"

The reply was muffled but the voice, a voice Lucy could never forget, answered after a few moments. "…Of course my Child, you may enter." They announced, Priscilla opening the door a second later. The room beyond was so similar to the rooms back in the Heartfilia institute that for a brief second Lucy honestly thought she was back in the past.

There was no decoration in the room, only dark metal walls with a single florescent light lacrima in the celling. In the center of the room was a metal examination chair, metal bindings along its armrests making it clear what the chair was normally meant for, and the drain in the center of the floor made it even clearer.

But Lucy's attention wasn't on the room, instead her gaze couldn't help but be drawn to the man standing right by the chair. He was different, older and grayer with a white mask covering the upper left of his face, but the man standing by the chair was someone Lucy could never forget.

Jude Heartfilia, the man who had turned her into a weapon.

"Ah, my precious Children. Welcome home." Jude greeted with a smile that was anything but warm before turning his attention to Lucy, the blonde mage suppressing the chill that traveled down her spine. "And our dear Subject One has joined us once again. I am proud of you two."

Priscilla giggled at that, clearly pleased with being complimented. "Oh, it was nothing Father! Is there anything else that we can do for you?"

"Only help Subject One into her chair here…oh and Subject Three, I believe planting a blood detonation spell in her will be required until we can recondition her."

Vincent seemed to tense for a moment before nodding and moving to stand before Lucy. The two stood there silently for a moment before the crimson dagger in her chest lost its form and vanished into the wound in her chest, the Weave closing said wound only a second later.

"It's completed Sir…but is this truly necessary? Even for One, a blood detonation is…"

"…Not to worry Three, it is simply a deterrent. I'm sure that once she realizes everything the light guilds have done to her we will no longer require it." Jude continued in his same patient tone as Vincent and Priscilla strapped her down.

Under normal circumstances the moment the blade disappeared from her chest Lucy would have made her move. But with her still acting up motion sickness and the fact that she could clearly feel Vincent's spell in her chest her mental defender had determined that aggressive action was pointless, seizing control of her limbs and forcing her to comply.

"There we go! All safe and sound right sister?" Priscilla commented with a giggle before skipping over to the door. "Well then Father, we will be going then! Please call us if you need any help getting Sister Lucy back to her old self!" and with a final wave she disappeared, Vincent shaking his head and sighing before following after her.

The moment the two were out of sight Lucy sprang into action, using what little magic she had managed to generate to reinforce her muscles as she attempted to break out of her restraints. However, all she managed to do was make the metal groan under her pressure.

"Magically reinforced steel. You would need quite a bit more strength to break something like this that easily Subject One…honestly I'm a little disappointed that you even tried, clearly your time performing normal guild work has dulled your senses." Jude commented in way of an explanation before sighing heavily.

"…H-how…how are you still alive? That day…that fire…" Lucy muttered under her breath as she continued to struggle, trying desperately to keep the fear out of her voice as her mind raced to find some way out of the danger.

The blonde man chuckled at that, the sound of his laughter somehow more terrifying than the silence in his presence. "Ah yes, that day…I will admit, I fully underestimated the attachment you would form to your fellow Subjects. Though in retrospect I suppose I should have anticipated some emotional bonding after you slew that beast. Regardless, your attack did catch me and the other researchers off guard, so much so that you gave me this." Jude explained as he pointed at the white mask that covered a portion of his face.

"though it appears that while the imprinting we did to give you the ability to improvise your tactics on the fly, it seems we failed to give you any talent for reading your opponents. Something we will have to work on in the future. You see, while you held the advantage of surprise, using your inherent connection to the elemental planes to attack your fire you failed to take into account a magic I had picked up since your training began…Absolute Resistance Magic."

Lucy couldn't help but pale in realization as Jude Heartfilia laughed. "While not meant for combat, the magic allows its user to become nearly immune to one type of magic of their choice at one time. An immunity that can even protect someone from say, the flames of the lord of fire."

"How…how could you possibly know about Ifrit back then? I hadn't…I hadn't even called to him yet." Lucy questioned, falling back on her conditioning to keep her captors talking for as long as possible in order to give her allies

Jude raised a quizzical eyebrow at that, almost as if he expected her to know already. "Because I know you Subject One. I know you better than you know yourself if your shock is anything to go by it appears that you are unaware of the truth…strange, according to my earlier predictions Solomon should have contacted you by now…most peculiar."

 _Solomon! How does he know about that?_ Lucy's panic only grew at the mention of the supposed ruler of magic. No matter where she went, or what she did, it seemed like all paths led back to this person…but why?

"Ah, it appears I was a tad hasty in my judgment." Jude admitted as he smiled down at the distressed dragon slayer. "You have had contact with Solomon…though judging from the state of the world I can only assume you have yet to take up your birthright."

"I don't know what you're talking about, and in the end, I do not care." Lucy managed to force out as she bottled up her anxiety and forced it down. "You have attacked Fairy Tail and therefore have become our enemy. And Fairy Tail always destroys our enemies."

Jude stared at her, almost as if he was shocked by her declaration, before beginning to chuckle. His soft laughter somehow more terrifying than the normal insane ravings that normally accompanied being captured. "I see, I see… "Our enemies" is it? It appears that your time interacting with civilian mages has truly damaged your mind." The blonde megalomaniac continued, shaking his head as he made a "Tsk" with each shake. "I did not want to have to resort to such barbaric means of reconditioning you, but I suppose if you are so consumed by Stockholm Syndrome I am left with little choice." He said as he picked up a series of black needles from the nearby table, each one giving off an almost chilling magical energy. "Well then Subject One, shall we begin? We do have much to speak of after all."


	26. Chapter 26

Natsu glared from his corner of the room at the newest dragon slayer, the tension in the room so noticeable that even he was picking up on it. They had arrived at the town only a few minutes ago and Erza had almost instantly herded them into the Inn with a scowl to force the Fairy Tail members to obey, while Tiria followed on the promise of cake. Apparently, she had just as much of an appetite as Natsu and Gajeel, something that would've made the dragon slayer happy normally but with Luce still missing it was more kinda just…annoying.

With them all crowded around in a single room Erza had pulled out a weird orb thingy, the Ice jerk saying that apparently it was some kinda communication lacrima, and within a second the Master's angry face was on the other end, the old man demanding a report on what they had discovered. Erza went over the stuff about how they had shown up in town and gone to look for the missing blonde, how they got attacked, and how their attacker revealed themselves to know that Lucy had been taken by that Jude bastard she had mentioned after the whole Phantom thingy.

And that was why the little green haired dragon slayer and the old man were in a staring match, the water dragon slayer's look a strange mix between tense and tired while the old man looked mostly just annoyed with a little worried…or at least Natsu thought it might be worried, he was never really that good at telling feelings from someone's face.

"So…allow me to reiterate the situation…" Master Makarov ground out, like it was painful for him to force the words out of his mouth. "Not only is Jude Heartfilia, the man who betrayed the council, alive and well, but he is also the one who has captured Lucy? All in an attempt to recreate the program of the Heartfilia Institute?"

"Ya that's…pretty much it." Tiria confirmed with a shrug. "I mean, your kinda missing a whole bunch of details about how awful its going to be, and how he's probably already gotten around to trying to break her will but ya."

"…Are you aware that you are not the easiest person to talk to?"

"Yep, I've been told its part of my charm." The girl answered easily, Natsu, the other occupants of the room, and the Master all glaring at her with varying levels of anger.

But the Master eventually put aside his growing fury, drawing upon the patience that had developed after so many years of dealing with Natsu. "And the Magic Council? What of them?"

"Best guess is that one or maybe all of them knew about this and just turned a blind eye to try and get rid of evidence or they just didn't notice at all…and considering how stupid they are most of the time I'm kinda leaning towards the latter."

"…I see…Thank you for informing my children of this conspiracy Child, but I must ask. Why have you insisted that Erza and the others not go after her immediately? Surely if the situation is as dire as you say then we should assault their base of operations at the earliest opportunity."

"Because they'll lose." Tiria answered with a tone of voice like she was talking about the weather, Natsu's anger leaping to the front of his mind. But before he could even growl Gray shot forward and slammed his fist down on the table, the Lacrima bouncing up and down for a second in response.

"I've had enough of this! You attack us, tell us our friend is kidnapped, and then say we're too weak to do anything?! You've got a lot of nerve…" He half growled, half yelled, as he slipped a hand under his shirt, Natsu assuming that he did so just in case they needed to fight and he needed to lose clothing fast.

"Oh, cry me a river Ice boy." The water dragon slayer shot back, seemingly unbothered by his rage. "You all couldn't even handle a single sneak attack by someone who was just testing you. What the hell do you think is gonna happen when you go in there against people who will kill you just as easily as they breath? I'll tell you what; they'll slips a dagger though your back, between your ribs, and into your heart before you even notice someone's there."

Natsu gritted his teeth at that, wanting to yell back that they would be fine, but did kinda get what she was getting at. Even with all his dragon slayer senses, he hadn't picked up on her being nearby until it was almost too late. Meaning that the others wouldn't have a chance of noticing someone lurking around like she had been without him around.

But he was Natsu Dragneel, and he wasn't about to let a logical argument stop him. "Like hell they'll get us like that! We're Fairy Tail! We don't lose in fights!"

"Could've fooled me." She huffed back, Natsu preparing to shout back but was stopped when Erza slammed her hands down on the table as well.

"Enough! The Master is not done speaking!"

"…Thank you Erza. Now then, Ms. Irving, while I understand your reservations about our mages I can assure you that my children are more than prepared for the danger."

The two continued to stare at each other for a moment more, Tiria studying him though the orb while the Master watched back with the same look Natsu always saw on the old mans face. And apparently that was enough for the water dragon slayer, as Tiria sighed before raising her hands and shrugging.

"Alright fine, if you really want to just throw bodies at the problem until its solved then who am I to stop you…hell, if your all getting their attention then maybe ill find a chance to sneak around and find her."

"Fair enough. Now then, you claimed that you knew exactly where our Lucy has been taken. Would you be so kind as to release that information now?"

"…she's on an airship." The water dragon slayer revealed, both Natsu and Gajeel tensing slightly at the revelation.

"S-ship…she's on a ship? Y-your sure?" Natsu tentatively asked, now suddenly much more anxious about their chances.

"She should be, considering I got this info from a pirate that ran off when Jude seized control of their ship. Apparently, the old bastard snuck onto their ship, killed the captain, and took their ship for their own. Most of the crew stayed on 'cause apparently he doesn't care what they do or take so long as they don't stick their heads into his business. Though a few of them left when he took over, one of which I found and got this info from."

"But Juvia is confused, how can Ms. Irving be certain that the man was telling the truth, or that they have Ms. Lucy?"

"Because I can be very…persuasive, when I want to. It was one of the more useful things that the blonde bastard taught us after all." The green haired girl continued, the Fairy Tail mages around them shifting slightly in unease.

"An airship…that does complicate things. We will need to determine its exact heading, how high they are traveling, their expected course…" Erza began to mutter under her breath, her eyes narrowing in concentration as Tiria stared at her with a look Natsu didn't really get.

"…or you can just ask the eleven-year-old dragon slayer who's been preparing for this fight for the last few months. The same one who figured out where Lucy is and already knows where we can rent an airship to get there. You know, the simpler option? Or do you Fairy Tail mages just like making things more difficult." She threw out, Erza's cheeks turning red as she looked away and coughed.

"Yes well…I suppose we could consider other alternatives." The red head admitted before launching into a discussion on where exactly they would launch their own airship from, and how best to get inside the pirate one.

But Natsu had already tuned out whatever they were talking about in favor of staring out at the night sky. He really, REALLY, wanted to go after his partner right now, but Erza had threatened him with only low-ranking missions for the next few years if he went off by himself…plus knowing now that the weird blonde was flying through the sky did make it kinda harder to get to her by himself.

 _But this waiting…this sucks!_ Natsu thought with a low growl as he stomped out of the room and eventually out the front door of the inn.  _Luce's out there waitin' for us and here we are wastin' time talking about how to get her! She didn't wait to get us back in that Edolas place…damn it!_

But Natsu's thoughts were interrupted when he felt a paw on his pant leg, the pink haired dragon slayer looking down to see a worried looking Happy at his side. "Natsu…I'm worried about Lucy..." The blue cat admitted as he stared down at the ground, his eyes watering as he continued to hold onto the fire dragon slayers leggings. "She might be really weird, but she's all alone right now and…"

"I get it little buddy. I get it." Natsu agreed as he glared up at the moon like the white orb was the one who had kidnapped their friend. "But as much as I hate to admit it, the water girl in there's kinda right. We never fight against people who wont fight with us…even those weirdoes in Eisenwald still fought us straight on." Natsu didn't even think for a second that he could beat the shit out of anyone who got between him and his partner. But if their dumb mages weren't going to fight head on…then the fire dragon slayer wasn't really sure what to do. "But don't worry Happy. I wont let anyone hurt her, she's our first teammate after all, she belongs with me- I mean us, she belongs with us." Natsu finished, kinda confused over the weird feeling in his chest that he got when he thought of not ever seeing Luce again and his weird slipup… _Eh, I'll think about it later._

"Ya! She's our partner not some stupid assassin lady like Tiria was saying!" Happy agreed with a smile and a few rapid nods of his head, Natsu smiling down at one of his first friends before looking back up at the sky.

_Hang on Luce, we're commin' for ya!_

* * *

Pain, that was all she knew, all she understood, the totality of her existence, inky putrid magic scratching across her thoughts as it slowly creeped through her brain.

Her throat was horse from the constant screaming despite the fact that she could no longer feel it. Dragon Lucy had assumed control long ago, from the first moment that Jude forced one of the black needles into her head, the magical devices not actually penetrating the skin but rather attacking her in a way that the blonde could only describe as "attacking her very existence."

She could feel the Weave attempt to fight back, the black lines that indicated its activation likely covering her skull, but despite both its attempts and her own defenses the feeling continued to spread though her thoughts until all she could think of was the pain…

…and then it was gone. The agony, the pure unfiltered pain vanished like it had never existed, leaving the blonde elemental mage limp and panting.

"…I'm so sorry Subject One. While I cannot help but be fascinated by how a person is affected by these shadow spikes, I never wished to cause you such pain." Jude apologized as he placed the dark magic rods back on the table beside Lucy's chair, Lucy almost believing him for a moment…almost.

"You…should be careful…Jude, I was almost…convinced you cared…for a second." Lucy managed to get out in between breaths, trying her hardest to channel as much of what she thought Natsu would say.

"Is it so strange that I am concerned for you?" Jude returned, moving to kneel before Lucy with a strange look on his face. "You are my greatest success, my pride, and a gift from Solomon to the world. What reason would I have to not be concerned for your wellbeing?"

That got Lucy's attention away from the pain for a brief moment. "You…you mentioned Solomon earlier…how do you know about them?" Lucy questioned as she tried to gather her magic for another attempt to escape. Remembering her training that if she could get her captor talking she could delay them until the situation changed.

Unfortunately, the man responsible for teaching her such things was her current captor. The smile on his face causing Lucy's heart to drop. "A Subject One, trying to get me to monologue in order to gather magic energy? Though its misguided, I'm happy to see you take our training to heart." The blonde man chuckled as he stood back up and stared up at the celling on contemplation. "…Though now that I consider it, I have no real reason to not speak on the subject." He thought out loud before staring down at Lucy, his eyes serious. "…Solomon, a name that was once known, and feared, throughout the world. A king in a much grander sense of the word than anyone alive today could fully comprehend, myself included."

"Why? What made this king so special? And what do I have to do with them?" Lucy questioned, her voice wavering with barely suppressed emotion. A part of her knew that by directing his questions he might not speak for so long, that it did not benefit her current situation, but a much louder part of her mind was desperate to hear this, to find out what this otherworldly force that seemed to haunt her every action was. True, she had heard about some of this from her Edolas counterpart, how Solomon was believed to have created magic, but even then, she had been skeptical. Surely a single individual couldn't be responsible for all the worlds magic…right?

"Solomon was the worlds first true leader. They united the many warring people of our world, brought order and stability to magic, imposed a rule of law with an iron fist all over a thousand years ago." Jude listed off as he began to pace around the room. "They forged peace with the dragons, the demons, and created the first Machias…before vanishing from history, choosing the family of their respected advisor in command of their empire. A family that would one day become the rulers of Pergrande, though that advisor's descendants were eventually slaughtered by the Black Wizard Zeref."

Lucy's eyes widened slightly at that, the mention of the slowly failing nation not one she was expecting, nor the mention of the father of dark magic. "Then…if I have something to do with Solomon why did you have us…"

"Why did I have you constantly weakening their nation? It's simple, because your throne needed to be prepared." Jude answered, laughing at Lucy's even wider eyes. "That surprised, are you? I told you, you are a gift from Solomon themselves…their descendant, their child."

Lucy couldn't think, couldn't breathe, couldn't even begin to understand the words that were now echoing though her skull.  _Child?...but…but that can't be…I'm not that old!_ She thought in a panic, Dragon Lucy not fully able to suppress her anxiety or unease. "I don't understand Jude, why bother lying at this point? You gain no advantage over me by trying to confuse me."

"Lie? I'd be insulted that you would assume I would stoup so low if it weren't for the fact that its understandable why you are confused. Not many beings emerge from pure ethernano in location closely related to the ancient king."

"E-emerged?"

"I see, I had assumed that Solomon would have contacted you with information on your origin before now. But I can no longer afford to wait for our former ruler to speak…you were a infant who was born from the very lifeblood of our planet deep within the ruins underneath the former Magic Council headquarters in Era, ruins built over one thousand years ago. A child that appeared in the very place that Solomon was believed to have disappeared at." Jude continued in the same, almost bored, tone as before. The man revealing life altering information with the same casualness as someone speaking of the weather.

"No…that's…" Lucy muttered as she began to shake in her bindings. She wanted to deny it, to cry out with all the anger and fear that Dragon Lucy was unable to eliminate, but she couldn't rationalize why Jude would continue to weave such a story.

"Of course, many were horrified to see a child so young emerge from the pure ethernano, some in fact calling for you to be imprisoned in Black Vox just to be safe. Naturally I could not allow such a disrespectful act against Solomon's direct descendant and as such had to eliminate or bribe anyone who knew of your existence and took it upon myself to help you reach your true potential."

"…by training me to assassinate people? By keeping me from feeling?" Lucy growled out, a furious glare on her face.

"Of course." Jude answered instantly with an annoyed expression. "A ruler does not need to feel to rule, they cannot afford to cry over every little thing. And it is only natural for those in power to face threats to their lives at any given time and as such, a ruler who understands assassinations will be better prepared when they must face their own." He continued, and while Lucy could see the logic of his argument it just felt…wrong. "And of course, I would be there every step of the way, advising you on the proper course that humanity must take."

Jude continued to talk, mentioning something about what exactly they would do once Lucy came to power, but Lucy couldn't hear him over the roar of her blood in her ears. She couldn't believe, refused to accept, what she was hearing.  _I…not human? Even ignoring my dragon side I was born from magic?_  Terror threatened to overwhelm Lucy, the knowledge that she was even less normal than she had believed almost too much to bear, but just when her sorrow grew to the breaking point she remembered something that had slipped her mind, that there were people who cared for her despite everything that she was, had accepted her for who she had been.

Without conscious effort, images of her guild mates flew though her mind, of Mira's smiling face from behind the bar, Gray's confident smirk, Erza's sharp but kind gaze, and Natsu. Every time that her partner refused to give up on her.

"…It doesn't matter what the world wants from me, or why I was born." Lucy muttered slowly, confidently, in a tone that all but forced Jude to pause in his plans and pay attention. "The only thing that matters is that I belong to Fairy Tail, that they welcomed me even after I brought destruction to their doorstep…and I refuse to betray that." Lucy looked up into the surprised black eyes of the man who forged her, her own brown orbs filled with determination. "And I will see you brought to ruin for your actions."

"…Well now, it appears that your time in the light wasn't for naught." Jude eventually declared as he placed a hand on his chin. "The old Subject One would've never have made a declaration like that…on second thought, perhaps I won't remove all your memories of your time with them, they clearly have had some positive effect on your personality." He decided, his words sending a sharp stab of ice though Lucy's veins.

"R-remove?! What do you mean? What have you done to me Jude Heartfilia!" Lucy all but roared, both her and Dragon Lucy's responses syncing in a way they almost never did.

"Surely you don't think that the time we've spent in here was simple torture?" Jude questioned with an incredulous glint in his eyes. "My dear, these devices you see before you serve a very specific purpose, the removal of a targets memories at the user's discretion."

"Y-you lie…I-I still remember Fairy Tail, I still remember my family." Lucy shot back, desperately searching her memories for any discrepancies, for anything that didn't make sense.

"Of course, you do. I haven't touched those yet." Jude answered as he moved for the door. "No, tonight's session was for the sole purpose of removing all memories between you leaving the institute along with that infuriating lizards mission."

"…M-mission?" Lucy parroted as she desperately thought back. She remembered the fire, her deal with the Magic council, and then…didn't she join Fairy Tail immediately after?  _No…NO! That's wrong! Mom wanted me to do something for her! To find something! W-what was it!_ Lucy all but screamed in her head as she frantically tried to remember.

But no matter how hard she searched she couldn't find it. There was nothing, no memory of her adoptive mother telling her to do something…but it just wasn't there anymore.

"Its quite the complicated process, rewriting someone's memories. Hence why we will stop until tomorrow." Jude's voice broke though the dull hum in her ears, her eyes watching him open the door to her cell with unshed tears. "Until tomorrow, Lucy of Fairy Tail, enjoy your memories while you can." And with that he shut and sealed her in, the darkness not nearly as comfortable as it used to be.

The tears that had remained stubbornly in the corners of her eyes finally began to fall, the sounds of the ships engines just loud enough to mask her sobs. Only a few hours ago Lucy would've done anything to keep her friends away from this place, to not risk letting them see even a hint of her past and what she would need to do to escape from it. But now…now she wanted noting more than for someone to help.

"Natsu…everyone…please hurry." Lucy whispered as she screwed her eyes shut, trying desperately to stem the tide of tears that were still flowing down her cheeks. "If you don't…I won't be me anymore."

* * *

"So, this is where we're gonna get a ship? 'Cause it smells weird here." Natsu confirmed, scrunching up his nose at a scent that he could only describe as a mixture of really old boots and really spicy spices, neither something he really enjoyed.

It had been a day and a half since their group had been attacked by the water dragon slayer and it was only now that they were finally going to do something to get Luce back. They had spent nearly all of the day before on an expensive non-stop train to get where they needed to be, Wendy casting Troia for Natsu and Gajeel since Tiria didn't need it for some reason, something about being able to control the motion of fluid in her body so she didn't feel it or somethin' like that. And at the end of their hellish journey they found themselves in some kinda sky port town. Natsu had to admit, even with the fact of Luce's capture hanging over his head, he couldn't help but stare slack jawed at all the crazy looking ships flying though the sky, some even having miniature dragon statues carved on their fronts.

And while any other day Natsu would be all over going to see all the dragon-ship thingy's, there was much more important things to worry about today.

"Yep, got a man in town how can be easily… "persuaded" to loan out his ship for the day." Tiria answered as she slipped in between the crowds of people in the market they were in, slipping though so easily that Natsu wasn't sure that anyone even noticed her.

"I understand that you do not operate on the same ethical plane as the rest of us…but if you attempt to steal a ship I will have to punish you." Erza warned, not needing to maneuver though the crowd as they parted before her due to her massive cart of luggage.

"I meant more bribing and intimidation but fine, I won't steal it…not like we could get it pretty far with Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dumb here." The girl snickered as she pointed over her shoulder at Natsu and Gajeel, both dragon slayers making noises of fury before cutting themselves off at Erza's glare.

"I can help! Plus, we got Wendy here so she can keep us up!" Natsu shouted while Gajeel mumbled about how he was still better than Salamander.

"Ya, because that's a great idea." Tiria scoffed as she actually turned around and planted her hands on her hips. "Let's get the only person here who can heal everyone to use her magic just to make you guys more comfortable. Because its not like we're going to be attacking someone any time soon."

Natsu couldn't help but growl at the younger slayer. Now that he really thought about it, ever since they had met the really annoying water dragon slayer she had been nothing but a jerk to Natsu. Not that she was much better with anyone else, Erza and Wendy pretty much the only two of their group that could talk with her normally, but with Natsu it was like she had a grudge against him or somethin'…maybe he destroyed a town she was in?

"I-I'd be fine! I have enough magic to help Natsu and Gajeel and heal everyone!" Wendy added in, her fists held out in front of her with a confident look on her face, despite the fact that Carla was shaking her head in denial from the blue haired girls shoulder.

"No, Ms. Irving is correct. We cannot afford to waste magic at such a critical juncture. Natsu and Gajeel will just have to suffer." Erza denied, Wendy nodding sullenly as Erza turned back to the green haired slayer. "Regardless, due to your previous actions, I do not trust you to act respectively in regardless to procuring our transport. As such I will accompany you."

"…Whatever, that works too." Tiria muttered under her breath as Erza turned to the others.

"Gray and Juvia, I want you to go and purchase supplies. Bandages, antidotes, and whatever other goods you believe we will require. Natsu, Wendy, Gajeel and the Exceeds, head to the local inn and rent us some rooms for the afternoon."

"Wha! What the hell are you talkin' about Erza! We don't have time for this shit, we need to go get Luce!" Natsu shouted, a good deal of the people around them pausing to stare at him with nervous expressions, not that the dragon slayer cared.

"Natsu! We will not blindly rush into an enemy encampment without proper preparations. We cannot rescue our family if we lose because we were unprepared!" Erza half-shouted back, a glare that would normally cause Natsu's blood to run cold on her face, a glare that Natsu only scowled deeper at. "You will listen to my orders or I will inform the Master of your refusal."

Natsu clenched his jaw so tight that he could've sworn he heard his teeth chip before finally turning and storming off into the crowd, the air around him shimmering lightly from the heat of his anger.

It wasn't long before the other two slayers caught up to him, Wendy staring up at him with a concerned, forced smile. "D-don't worry Natsu! I'm sure that Ms. Lucy will be fine! Sh-she was alright in Edolas after all, she can take care of herself."

"This isn't like that Wendy!" Natsu shot back, both pinked-haired and blue haired slayer blinking in surprise at the anger he was directing at the younger girl, Natsu gritting his teeth as he pushed on. "This isn't just some stupid soldier guys without magic, these guys were after here and I wasn't-." Natsu cut off, unwilling to finish that sentence.

"Calm the hell down Salamander. The Squirt's right, Bunny girl can take care of herself. Plus, isn't this just kinda what happens to you fairies? It happened to Erza and a ton of other guildmates too right? Hell, Bunny girl's been kidnapped like…three times? Four? I can't even remember." Gajeel scoffed before pausing as Natsu turned around and fixed him with a glare that was so full of venom and anger that even the iron dragon slayer had to pause, a realization dawning on him. "This possessiveness…Salamander…are you?" He muttered, Natsu's glare lessening as it gave away to confusion.

"What? What about me?"

"…Hah...if your dumbass dragon dad didn't talk to you about this then I'm sure as hell not." Gajeel shook his head as she shouldered past. Wendy, Natsu, and the Exceeds watching him leave for a second before following after.

"…Sorry 'bout that Wendy. Just annoyed that we're just gonna be sitting around while Luce's…" Natsu eventually muttered, his hands in his pockets and a pout on his lips.

"Its ok Natsu…I'm worried too." Wendy admitted, her eyes downcast and a miserable expression on her face. "Ms. Lucy has already gone through so much and now she's by herself…I wish we were with her when they attacked. Then we could've helped her."

Natsu frowned at that, the younger slayer brining up something that Natsu didn't really want to think about. So instead of trying to he just fumed silently as they followed after their metal companion, found the place that Erza wanted them to go, and waited. Wendy had tried to strike up conversation a few times, talking about what they would do when they brought Lucy back, but Natsu wasn't in the mood for talking and Gajeel was…well, he was Gajeel. So eventually the three slayers just decided to remain silent until their group met back up, Erza stepping up with her usual commanding presence.

"Good, now that we have all returned we may formulate our attack strategy." Erza declared, drawing Natsu out of his worries. "Captain Millias, the kind man who has agreed to take us up-."

"Wonder what exactly she threatened the guy with to get him to agree." Gray whispered, mostly to himself, as Erza continued.

"-will take us to the ship believed to be carrying our comrade. We will disembark and divide into two groups. One will attempt to seize the ships control room in order to force it to the ground, while the other will search for our companion. The Lucy search group will be comprised of our dragon slayers plus Tiria and the Exceeds. The rest of us will prioritize the nerve center…now then, Ms. Irving here has information to share on our potential opponents." Erza commanded as she waved her hand in the direction of the green haired slayer, said girl snorting and uncrossing her arms.

"Alright so, I don't really know much about the whole pirate gang other than there's only a few mages among them with no real impressive skills. One fire mage, two wind users, and apparently one guy who uses requip. The real threats are Subject's Two, Three, and Jude himself."

"First off is Priscilla Mantisen, otherwise known as Subject two. She practices a pretty unique style of magic known as Enfeeble magic, magic that weakens others, and necromancy." Wendy gasping in shock.

"W-weakens people? So, then its…"

"Yep, pretty much the opposite of your sky dragon magic." Tiria nodded. "So we might wanna make sure your around when she shows up to kill us…also the girls missing nearly all her screws, so don't I wouldn't bother with trying to talk her down." She continued, the others shifting nervously at her words. "The other one goes by Subject Three, given name Vincent…and he's far more dangerous than the Priscilla."

"Oh ya? 'Cause I can't think of anything worse than an insane girl can control dead things." Gray commented, Tiria snorting back.

"Well then your pretty unimaginative. Because Three uses blood magic." She announced, the room going quiet as the Fairy Tail mages stared at her like she had grown a second head.

"Blood magic…so he's a vampire?" Natsu eventually asked past the lump in his throat, the green haired girl turning to stare at him with a patronizing expression.

"…Really? Are you that stupid? No, he's not some garlic hating freak…I think anyway, never really seen him eat the stuff before." Tiria started before seemingly thinking about what she was saying. "But anyway, his magic allows him to manipulate, harden, and otherwise make whatever he wants out of blood. Whether or not its his or not doesn't matter, if there's blood around him he can use it."

"J-Juvia isn't so sure about our chances anymore…" Natsu's enhanced hearing picking up on the rain woman's mutterings, the fire dragon slayer scowling but otherwise saying nothing.

"He can't manipulate blood under the skin, apparently because of ethernano in the skin or something, but If he injures you, even if it's a little prick, then your as good as done."

"Hmm…troubling…though my armor and Gajeel's iron scales should be able to counter such an offense." Erza strategized out loud, the black-haired slayer grinning savagely at the thought of the fight to come.

"And finally, the big bastard himself, Jude Heartfilia." Tiria spat out, the scowl on her face so bad that Natsu was almost impressed. "As far as I know he's got no real offense magic, just some kind of resistance magic that he used to survive Lucy's flames that night. Other than that, he's got quite the collection of magic tools, so expect him to pull something out of his metaphorical hat."

"Ok…so two people with crazy magic, and an old bastard with stuff in a hat…we got this!" Natsu shouted out as he slammed his fists together and grinned savagely, only to blink in confusion at the strange looks the others were giving him.

"…So, was Igneel just a complete moron then?" Tiria eventually threw out, Natsu's gaze immediately turning deadly as he glared down at the younger girl.

"What?" He growled out, his voice low and deadly.

"I mean seriously, everything you say is just so stupid that I can't think of any way for someone to be that stupid if it didn't come from their parents. So, it just seems normal to think that the king of all fire dragons was kinda dumb as well." The girl continued as if she was oblivious to the fact that Natsu had stormed up to her and was glaring down at her with a gaze that promised no small amount of pain. His anger so great that the air around him was beginning to shimmer from the heat.

But before the enraged slayer could utter a single syllable Erza stepped between them and forced them apart in her usual way, by placing a hand on their chins and forcing them apart, an action that always left Natsu's neck cracking in a way that was just wrong.

"Enough you fools! I don't understand why you two are constantly antagonizing the other, but it needs to stop! We cannot allow your petty quarrel to endanger the mission. Both of you go outside, cool your heads, and meet us at the port…and when you do I expect you too to be on friendly terms. Am I clear?"

"What the hell Erza! You can't expect me to-."

"Am I clear Natsu?" Erza interrupted with a glare that instantly had the pink haired teen sweating.

"A-aye ma'am!" he shouted in a high pitch voice before turning and goose stepping out the door, the green haired slayer clicking her tongue and following after only a second later.

The two slayers didn't say anything at first, both glaring at anything but each other as they walked through the city. But both understood that they didn't have much time before the mission began.

So eventually Natsu turned to glare at the younger girl. "…So, what the hell did I do to you to get you all pissy with me? Or are you just always like this?"

"…Its both." The girl answered after a moment, turning to glare at Natsu. "I won't go into why I don't like you, we both don't care about each other after all, but you really wanna know why I'm pissed at you? It's because this whole thing is your fault!"

"Huh? What the hell does that mean?"

"the whole world knows that Lucy is your partner, that you two work together on missions. That she's always with you."

"Eh?...Ya, I'm Luce's partner. What does that have to do with anythin'?"

"Because if your supposed to be her partner then why the hell was she working by herself?" Tiria snarled back, her mouth already opening to continue shouting at Natsu. "Someone who claims to be so close to Lucy should know that she doesn't exactly have a bunch of common sense, that someone could easily trick her, but nooooo…you weren't there. You were probably off with your thumb up your you-know-what and now Lucy's been taken."

"That's…!" Natsu shouted right back, intending to defend himself but his words died in his throat. Despite wanting nothing more than to argue back, to tell the young slayer that he wasn't at fault, he knew she did kinda have a point. Lucy was always strange, always not payin' attention to what she should be, but it hadn't been a problem before because even if she missed somethin', he was there to take the hit for her…until now.

 _"Natsu?...can I talk to you?"_ Natsu's thoughts instantly went back to a few days ago when the blonde approached him during the party, the weird, almost desperate look on her face…and finally Natsu realized the gravity of his failure.

Luce had been looking for his help, help he had promised her when they had been flying back up into the sky, and he had thrown it back in her face just because he had wanted to have some fun with his friend who came back from the dead.

Natsu almost felt nauseous as he staggered backwards, Tiria's smirk filled with contempt as she watched him.

"Lucy's in trouble because you weren't there Natsu Dragneel. And with everything they're probably doing to try and break her I wouldn't be surprised if she never spoke to you again. Hell, I'm kinda thinking I should just tell her not to hang around your dumbasses anymore…but that doesn't matter now, we've gotta work together for today. So, if you try not to sound so dumb anymore then I'll…try to be less rude…deal?"

"…I don't think I say stupid things too often…but fine." Natsu pouted, pushing the pain and horror of his failure to the back of his mind, he could deal with his failures after they got Luce back.

"Fine." Tiria returned, the two slayers glaring at each other in the center of the road until Natsu blinked and looked around.

"So…what are we supposed to do now?" he questioned, Tiria also blinking slowly and looking around.

"Oh right, I guess we were supposed to take longer or something…maybe food?"

"Food? Food sounds good…food sounds really good actually." Natsu agreed, realizing that ya, he could use a good meal before the fight…and they were dragon slayers, they did kinda need a lot of food to fight well.

* * *

The pain was back, the pain of having her thoughts, her memories, her very existence, Altered. Lucy tried everything she could think of to resist the magic, reinforcing the weave, trying to call out to her elementals, but no matter what she tried she the shadowy magic continued its advance upon her thoughts. So, in the end she did the only thing that was left to her.

 _Natsu, Happy, Gray, Erza, Wendy, Carla, Mira…Natsu-._  Lucy repeated over and over in her head, hoping that her impromptu mantra would help keep the few positive memories she had intact. But there really wasn't any way to determine if there was anything effective about what she was doing.

"Your resilience is impressive Subject Zero, I honestly didn't expect you to last this long." Jude's voice called though the haze of pain. "But why put yourself though so much pain? Why torture yourself just to hold on to such flimsy memories?"

"B-…because…they accepted me." Lucy eventually managed to get out.

"Accepted you? Nonsense, you are someone who was born in the dark, grew in the dark, reached your pinnacle in the shadows. The light guilds could never understand you the way your comrades here could. Their paths lead into the sun, into the light and warmth of mediocrity. Your path however is the path of a ruler, a path shrouded in the night, alone, unassailable. Why would you lower yourself to their level? They could never understand you, could never walk alongside you."

"Your wrong!" Lucy shouted back with surprising force considering her recent torture. "I told them about me, about what you did to me, and they still accepted me! They pulled me out of the shadows and helped me find a path that I could walk on despite everything I am." The blonde forced out as she stared up at Jude, not with anger, not with sorrow, but with a quiet dignity that caused Jude to pause. "I don't know what you are talking about when you talk about me being a ruler, just as I don't know what Solomon wants with me, and I don't care. I am Lucy of Fairy Tail and you cannot take that away from me."

"Well aren't you just full of honorable speeches today, Subject One." Jude chuckled as he placed the needles back on the tray. "A useful talent for a ruler, but not quite desired in our current situation...How about we take a short break, One. While you may not need food as often, I'm afraid that I am still quite a normal human." The blonde man joked before knocking on the door, the metal divider swinging open to reveal a concerned looking Priscilla. "In the meantime, why don't you enjoy the company of Priscilla here?" And with that he left, the younger assassin tentatively walking into the room and shutting the door behind her.

For a time neither spoke, Lucy because she was still recovering while Priscilla was staring down at the ground in worry. But eventually the younger girl worked up her courage and looked up at Lucy. "Big sister? Why are you trying so hard to fight against Father? If you don't fight against his help it won't hurt so much, so…"

"…do you remember how we met Priscilla?" Lucy asked quietly, Priscilla blinking at her for a moment before smiling.

"Of course, I do! Father found me on the streets, alone and afraid, and offered me a place in his family. I agreed, he brought me to the institute, and I met you and the others! And together we were working to make a better world than what exists now…up until you lost control of your powers and accidently burned down our home."

"…and that answers the reason why I'm trying so hard. Because I don't want to lose what you lost." Lucy answered after shutting her eyes in sorrow for a moment, the terror of the situation fully settling in on her.

"…Sister? What are you talking about?" The blue-eyed assassin asked with what would have been a cute tilt of her head if it weren't for the fact that their situation was too awful for something to be considered cute.

Lucy didn't know much about Priscilla's life, and at this point she couldn't necessarily trust that what she did know was the truth, but what she did remember was that Priscilla had been taken from her parents. She remembered the younger girls tears that day she had joined Lucy in her cell, the fear in her wide blue eyes…and the warmth Lucy had felt when she offered her comfort. But the girl in front of her was only partly that innocent child from so long ago. Jude had taken even more from her than Lucy had thought possible.

And for once in her life Lucy wanted to be selfish, she desperately wanted to hold on to her brief moments of happiness.

Thankfully, Priscilla didn't continue along with her line of questioning for long, instead switching over to gossiping, though Lucy was fairy certain that the current trends in assassination techniques weren't not the normal form of gossip. And despite the morbid content, Lucy was grateful for the distraction from worrying over what was missing from her mind.

"And by using the Boscian stranglers technique it becomes so much easier to deal with these uppity pirates. Of course, they still step out of line, like you saw earlier, but they really fear us now! Its just so-." Priscilla half giggled as she spoke before being interrupted by the door opening to a narrowed eyed Jude.

"Two, report to your combat ready station. There's an unknown airship approaching from the south…be prepared for a fight." The blonde man warned, Priscilla's face darkening at first before she turned back to Lucy with a far too bright smile.

"Well, I guess we'll have to talk some more later Sister! Bye, bye!" the young assassin half-yelled as she all but skipped out the door, Jude watching her leave.

"…It appears that your friends found you faster than I anticipated…I wonder." Jude commented without facing Lucy, the patriarch of the Heartfilia family not turning to face her as he thought out loud but Lucy was no longer listening.

_Natsu and everyone are coming for me! I need to hold out until they get here!_

"hmmm…it appears that we will have to accelerate your rehabilitation." Jude thought out loud before turning to stare down at Lucy, the blonde paling at the look on his face. "I apologize One, but there will be much more pain in your immediate future." He commented as he picked up one of the needles and, with almost no hesitation, stabbed it into Lucy's skull. The pain was excruciating, overwhelming, complete, and with nothing left to her Lucy returned to her mantra.

_Natsu, Happy, Gray, Erza, Wendy. Natsu-._

* * *

Natsu forced down the nausea as their ship lurched in order to dodge another cannon ball from the damn pirate ship. The captain guy they had hired hadn't stopped swearing since they took off and Carla wasn't exactly happy with Wendy hearing his choice of words. The young sky dragon slayer had cast Troia almost immediately after they took off, not that it really help when they were practically doing loops in order to avoid the attacks from the creepy looking pirate sky-ship. It hadn't taken them very long to wait for the ship holding Luce, as they had waited inside a cloud for them, - a cloud that wasn't nearly as tasty as they looked. This ship had showed up only a few hours later, slowly crossing the sky like some kinda stupid giant whale. They had launched upwards at them almost immediately after they showed up, and the pirate ship had started firing down at them.

"Ya damn Mages! Ya didn't tell me that you 'ere looking for the shadowed sky-dogs! I didn't sign up 'or this!" the man named Millias yelled from behind the wheel of the ship, turning the giant wheel left and right so fast that it pretty much never stopped spinning.

"Stop complaining! We payed you extra because of the danger so get us up there!" Tiria shouted from somewhere in the front of the ship where she was making as much water as she could for Gray.

" **Ice make Cannon**!" Said stripper shouted as he created yet another weird looking cannon thingy to shoot back at the giant ship in the sky.

" **Water Slicer!"** Juvia added as she threw her water blade to slice a cannonball in half. The two of them had been given the assignment of keeping their ship from being shot down by the hail of bullets with Tiria supplying the water for them so that they didn't run out of mana. Course Tiria might have issues, but apparently, she could just eat-or did it count as drinking? - water to get energy back so she was good to go.

The captain released another string of curses as their ship dipped down to avoid some kind of line the pirate ship shot out, though Natsu couldn't tell why they would shoot something so stupid at them, but before he could complain again Erza stepped forward and summoned a sword to her hand.

"We are about to make contact! All mages, prepare for combat! We will defeat these fools and take back our family member!" Erza shouted as she brandished her blade, Natsu and the others all shouting back. And of course, he was the loudest 'cause like Tiria said, this mess was all his fault so he needed to make it right again.

True to Erza's word, it wasn't long until they reached the underside of the ship. Millias managed to get them to the back of the ship, a place where a bunch of small dinghies were tied off, and slowed down enough for them to leap off onto the bigger ship.

"So long Mages, it's been nice knowin' ya!" The man shouted before he quickly pulled away and raced back downwards away from the ship, all the while dodging the angry shots directed at him.

For a brief moment no one spoke, each mage present reading themselves for the coming fight, but the moment passed when the hallway that led to their little landing area was filled up with scruffy looking pirates all yelling so many curses that even Natsu was impressed.

Not that it was going to stop him, as before they could even get their swords even close Natsu unleashed a torrent of flames from his fists, trying harder than normal not to burn down the ship they were currently flying on. "Get out of the way! Fairy Tail's here and were here to fight!"

* * *

The pain was too much, every thought she had was colored with it, every second that passed stretched into eternity.

"You need to endure, Subject One. Soon, we will be finished." A voice called out, a voice the girl couldn't identify though the agony.

_Natsu please…wait…who is Natsu?_


	27. Chapter 27

After punching what must have been his tenth pirate, Natsu finally started to notice a change in the bastard's tactics. They had stopped just blindly charging in and throwing themselves in front of his fiery fists and instead they were actually trying to play it smart. They were letting Natsu come to them instead of rushing the pinked haired slayer and had actually started to throw magic their way. Pathetic, waste of time magics that Natsu barely even bothered to try dodging, but magic all the same. And with their change in tactics the Fairy Tail rescue party hadn't made much progress, only having moved from the landing area to the hallway beyond. And while Natsu wasn't exactly much of a thinker in fights, the strange change in tactics was enough for even someone like him to notice.

"Oy Erza! Somethin's up!" Natsu shouted as he devoured a tiny fireball someone had shot at him, not even getting enough fire for it to taste like anything.

"I'm aware Natsu!" The red head shouted back as she tossed one of the pirates over her shoulder into a group of his comrades before brandishing her blade menacingly at the group of pirates. "Hear me, ruffians! What exactly have you done with our comrade and what are your intentions! Speak now or we will deal with you as you deserve!" she challenged, using the same tone of voice she used when she was trying to get Natsu or Ice Brain to admit they had been fighting, a kinda challenging tone that Natsu couldn't help but shout back at.

And fortunately for the Fairy Tail mages, at least one of the pirates was just as much of an idiot as he was, 'cause the dumbass actually answered. "Ha! We ain't tellin' you nothin' little fairies. All we need to do is keep ya here till the boss's little monsters deal with ya!" the pirate shouted from somewhere behind the front of their group, his comrades shouting in agreement before attempting to rush them, a rush that ended when Natsu released a jet of flame at them.

"We can't stay here grouped up like this anymore fairies, we're too much of a target for the real threats." Tiria muttered quietly enough that most of the pirates wouldn't have heard her, but the others would.

"Agreed, our presence here has likely been noticed by these assassin mages you have warned us of, and remaining together only presents more targets." Erza replied as she manifested a whole bunch of blades over her head and sent them raining down on the pirates, turning back to glare at Natsu as the pirates cried out in shock. "Natsu! Take the slayers and force your way through! Do not stop until you find our comrade!"

Natsu couldn't help but grin savagely at the orders, his right fist slamming into his palm in anticipation. "You got it… **Fire Dragon's Roar!** " He shouted as he turned to face one of the many corridors that lead deeper into the ship, his flames forcing the gathered fighters to fling themselves out of the way in order to avoid being burned.

And their cowardice was just the opportunity that the Fairy Tail mages needed, as Natsu and the other slayers rushed forward while the pirate's lines were in disorder.

"Oh, for the love of- Natsu! We're on a wooden ship really high up in the air! Would you please try to not burn it down with us inside?" Tiria cursed as they ran though the now smoldering hall, turning around and holding her arms over her head. " **Water Dragon's Wing Attack!** " she shouted as she sent twin whips of water down the corridor they had just ran though, ending the flames and washing more than a few of the bastards who had taken Luce down back towards the rest of their group.

"Like hell! I'm not pullin' my punches just 'cause the ship might go down…plus wouldn't that be better since we won't be in the air? Then I don't have to worry about getting sick." Natsu cursed before questioning, their group having rounded a corner and finding themselves alone for a moment. A moment they took to catch their breath.

"Don't worry Natsu! I'm ready to cast Troia on you again if you need it!" Wendy encouraged, a grim look of concentration on her face as she scanned the hallways around them.

"Thanks Wendy...actually, now that I think about it, why the heck are you so ok being on a vehicle?" Natsu couldn't help but growl out at the younger slayer, said green haired girl scoffing and crossing her arms as she glared back.

"Because I'm a water slayer, duh. I can manipulate the water in my body to keep from feeling sick…and because I'm just better than you."

"Why you little-!" Natsu half shouted, raising his fist, before Happy jumped up and landed on his head.

"Natssuuu! Common! We need to help Lucy!" The blue Exceed whined, Natsu freezing for a second before sighing explosively.

"Alright fine…so what now Tiria? You know where we're goin'?"

"Nope, not a clue." Tiria admitted with a shrug of her shoulders. "pirates don't exactly leave blueprints of their ships lying around for anyone to find, and Jude even less so. Best guess is that they're keeping her somewhere towards the center of the ship. Cargo hold area or such."

"…Right, well that's where we're headend then. Let's get 'em!" Natsu said with a battle hungry smirk, Gajeel mimicking his toothy grin.

"Gee hii, sounds like this is gonna be fun. Always wanted to take on some dark mages that aren't afraid to get their hands dirty!" The Iron dragon slayer commented with a crack of his knuckles as a group of pirates rounded a corner with weapons drawn.

"Hmm, at least we can be certain that we are headed in the proper direction. Their response here implies they are trying to keep us from getting any farther in." Panterlilly commented as he transformed into his adult form and started to beat down anyone who got too close, the other mages quickly joining him in dispatching the enemies.

The groups progress was slowed, as the pirates seemed to have figured out where exactly they had gone, but slowly but surely, they made their way farther into the ship until they found themselves in a far more open area than the narrow hallways. The room was filled with massive crates and barrels of different makes, marking the room as some kind of storage area. A room that could easily be hiding one of these supposive assassins that Tiria had warned them about.

And considering that the teen girl sitting on one of the many crates in the center of the room was smiling at them and humming to themselves Natsu couldn't help but think that sitting out in the open wasn't very assassin-like.

"Ah hah ha! Amazing! Your all really did show up!" The girl laughed to herself as stared down at them with excitement all over her face. "I thought for sure that my big brother would have taken care of all of you before you got here, but here you are! Oh, I'm so glad Father gave me this position to guard." The girl continued to giggle as her eyes slowly traveled over their group, stopping on Tiria and widening considerably. "And Sister Tiria! You're here too!? Why are you here?" The girl questioned with a tilt of her head that Natsu couldn't help but compare to Luce.

"P- Priscilla …" The young water dragon slayer forced out with a flinch, Natsu narrowing his eyes at the mention of one of the assassin mages Tiria had warned them about.

"…Oh, ohhh…oh, no." The girl, Priscilla, muttered sounding and looking heartbroken. "Your…you're here with them? Oh dear, that means I'll have to kill you now too." She cried out as the floor was suddenly covered in pools of black fluid, human skulls beginning to emerge from within. "But now that Sister Lucy is home again I can spend as much time as I need to make it up to her!" she finished, now sounding far too excited as her undead minions fully emerged from the floor, the skeletons carrying all manner of weapons.

"Uwahh…she's scary." Natsu could hear Wendy mutter from somewhere behind him, the fire dragon slayer privately agreeing with her as he readied his fire.

* * *

Erza couldn't help but grimace slightly as another salvo of bullets impacted against her Adamantine shield, the crimson haired warrior continuing her march down the hall all the regardless. After Natsu and his team had broken away Erza had given the order for their own group to begin advancing into the heart of the vessel. Of course, the pirates within hadn't been exactly keen on the idea of allowing foreign mages further into their home and were actually mounting an impressive resistance for those without magic, their defense more comprehensive than what most magical guilds could muster.

Not that it would stop the three of them from accomplishing their objective, as Gray and Juvia used the brief moment in between volleys to launch one of their own, their ice and water bullets flying over her shield.

"Well done you two!" Erza shouted over the cries of pain echoing from down the hall, the pirates tasting first hand the terror of an ice and water mage working together. "Let us advance!"

"…So, what's the plan Erza? Why wouldn't we look for Lucy too?" Gray asked in the lull of battle, having shed his shirt only for Juvia to pick it up with a blush on her face.

"Fool! Isn't it obvious? It's because we cannot afford to lose Natsu to motion sickness." Erza answered loudly as another round of bullets pinged off her shield. "Beyond that, I am certain that the magic council will be sending Rune Knights to apprehend Jude Heartfilia. And such an arrest will be far easier with their ship on the ground…Now then! Let us advance!" And with that Erza turned back towards the men who had kidnapped a member of their family.

 _According to common sense. The control center of this ship should be in a similar place to a normal ship. Meaning that the wheel of the ship should be up near the deck of the ship. In other words, we must head up in order to find a means to disable this ship._ Erza thought as she took another step forward, stepping immediately when the entire ship shuddered from some form of destination.  _That's assuming that Natsu doesn't bring it down himself in his anger. Gods help whomever chooses to get between him and his partner._ She continued, a brief smile filtering across her features for a moment, before once again stepping forward and bracing for their next barrage.

However, much to her surprise, no bullets sought to end her companions as they had previously. Instead, the pirates shouted their own battle cries and charged forward with sabers drawn, even more pouring out from the corridors that intersected the one they were currently standing in.

"Get 'em!" One of the nameless pirate's before them shouted as the mob rushed forward, clearly intent on returning the fight to a melee despite how poorly that went for them last time…perhaps Erza had overestimated them?

 _No, something's different._ Erza realized as she Requiped into her Heaven's Wheel armor and began cutting down those who drew too close.  _They're far more frenzied than they were last time._

There was a look in the brigand's eyes, a crazed, almost fearing, look in their eyes as they swung at the three mages. And Erza understood exactly what it was, as it was a look she was certain was in her eyes back when she and the other slaves had rebelled against their captors.

It was the look of someone fighting with everything on the line, a look of knowing that if they failed, they would be killed.

 _But the real question is why they have such a look._ Erza couldn't help but consider as she sent her swords forward to buy the three Fairy Tail mages some breathing room. "Gray! Juvia! Be warry, something's wrong here." She shouted over her shoulder where the two were currently dealing with a group pirates that had snuck up behind them in an attempt to surround the Fairies. "We should fall back until w-." she started to order when every instinct she had developed over her years of combat screamed at her to move, that death was approaching and that if she didn't move she would die.

Erza launched herself backwards, without any of the sense of grace her movements normally contained and collided with Gray's own back. And it appeared that her movements were not a moment too soon, as she could see what appeared to be a blade made out of blood sticking out of a pirate's chest, a blade that would have gone right through her unarmored stomach if she hadn't fled from her spot.

As the blade of blood vanished and the now dead pirate fell to the ground Erza caught sight of the man who had just attempted to kill her briefly before he vanished into the mass of bodies. He was young and thin, almost to the point of looking malnourished. But it was his eyes that Erza found herself both drawn to and horrified by.

In all her years of fighting against dark guild the strongest woman of Fairy Tail had learned to expect certain things from her opponents. Dark mages were almost always arrogant beyond compare, men and women who loved to gloat and look down upon their foes as they fought. It was a trait that was shared by nearly all of them, from the weakest all the way up to those who were members of the Balam Alliance. They relished the fight, the fact that they were stronger than others.

But this man…there was none of that. His gaze held none of the fury, arrogance, or confidence that Erza had come to associate with members of dark guilds. In fact, if Erza had encountered him on a city street she wouldn't have spared him a second glance. His gaze was…neutral, so neutral that he almost looked like he was performing some form of menial task.

To this mage, the act of killing was no more interesting than cloud watching. A fact that chilled Erza to her bone.

 _So, this is what Tiria meant when she warned us about. Truly terrifying._ Erza couldn't help but admit to herself as his form vanished into the crowd of bodies, the pirates once more surging forward to attack.

"What the hell Erza? What giv-."

"There's an assassin amongst their numbers! The blood mage!" Erza interrupted when Gray started to question why he had been shoved so forcefully.

Erza watched as surprised filtered across both faces before settling into grim determination. "Juvia understands, Juvia will be more cautious." The rain woman answered as she once again returned her attention to the pirates that surrounded them, Erza nodding in approval as she too retuned her gaze to the pirates.

"…Interesting, you have information on us…how exactly did that happen?" Erza heard a voice come from the crowd. A dry, cold, voice that even the pirates seemed to tense at the sound of.

The red-haired mage narrowed her eyes as she examined the crowd in between slashing at the fools who got too close. The voice had come from somewhere to her right, fairly far away from where his first attack came from.  _He's skilled at moving though crowds, making him difficult to track…and based off of his reluctance to stand on the frontline its unlikely he can hold his own against a concentrated assault…then we need to determine some way to isolate him._

"But in the end your information on us is irrelevant. It does not change what I must do." They assassin continued to speak, still sounding almost bored with the situation, just before Juvia cried out in shock, as a blade of blood shot out from underneath the arm of one of the pirates and attempted to slice her, the water mage only avoiding taking damage due to her water body. "Our Master has ordered you to die… and so you shall."

"Erza! We can't just sit here and get picked off by this bastard! We've gotta break out of here!" Gray warned as he created a bunch of ice spikes in the direction the blood blade had come from, sending a few pirates in that area to the ground but not revealing the blood mage, said man having already moved away.

"I'm aware…Juvia, do you have enough magic to perform a wide area attack?" The red-haired warrior asked as she Requiped back into her Adamantine in order to use her shields power to create a buffer between the three of them and the still sizable detachment of pirates that surrounded them. She had the barest form of a strategy forming in her head, but even she could not effectively deal with so many foes in such a confined space, at least not without opening herself up to a counter attack from a far more dangerous foe…at least not by herself.

"…Juvia should be able to. However, if Juvia uses such a large attack Juvia will not be able to maintain her Water Body spell afterwards. With the risk this blood mage poses, should Juvia take that risk?" The water mage eventually answered, her voice just barely a whisper in order to prevent their words from being overheard.

"Heh, don't sweat it Juvia. Erza and I got this clown." Gray bragged before shooting a smirk at said mage, Erza closing her eyes, releasing her pent-up breath, and opening her eyes with newfound determination.

"Indeed we do…on my mark!" Erza shouted as her armor glowed gold as she prepared to change into her next one, the spear now held firmly in her hands crackling with barely constrained energy. " **Lightning Empress Lance!** " She shouted as she brandished her thundering spear releasing deadly arcs of energy into the air. Normally, Erza's attack wouldn't be all that useful in their current situation. As the thunder that emanated from her spear was undirected, uncontrolled.

Or it would have been, if a certain water mage hadn't created the perfect environment to enhance her magic at nearly the same time Erza had cast her spell. " **Water Nebula!** " The blue haired water mage shouted as two miniature tidal waves washed out from her palms, filling the corridor with a ragging current.

The pirates likely didn't even realize what had hit them before the electrical current passed though their bodies, pulses of the bluish tinted thunder arcing across the waves and paralyzing them where they floated.

And then it was over, the water had vanished a second later, leaving Juvia panting with her hands on her knees, leaving only the slightly twitching and charred bodies of the nefarious sky thieves behind.

But rather than observing the defeated, Erza turned her attention to what appeared to be a crystallized human sized orb of blood in the center of the corridor further down the hallway in the direction they needed to go. An orb that liquified and splashed back down onto the ground to reveal a much paler assassin, Vincent if Tiria's information was correct, staring back at her with the exact same accused expression.

"I see, if your target is hiding, remove the place where they can find refuge." The man muttered, almost as if he was lost in thought, before nodding at Erza and the others. "I see that I underestimated you, I apologize for that. I had no idea you were also trained to kill."

"Like hell we are! We aren't some killer for hire like you bastards are! We're Fairy Tail!" Gray shouted back before Erza could, clearly furious about being compared to heartless assassins.

"Hmm…regardless, this still changes nothing." They boy continued as his hand began to glow with a dark crimson light, the blood that had pooled around his ankles and the bodies of the defeated pirates glowing in the exactly same color. "You three will still perish here… **Blood Mist.** "

* * *

"Ahaha! This is so much fun! You guys are really like ants! Always scurrying around, if I rip off your limbs will you wiggle around like bugs do?" Natsu heard the clearly insane girl giggle from somewhere on top of one of the many boxes as he took cover for a quick breather.

Fighting against this girl had to be the most confusing and infuriating things Natsu had ever done in his life, it was even worse than when his Pops had tried to teach him math! The fight had been easy at first as they had quickly put down all the creepy lookin' bone dudes she had been summoning, but when they went to attack her she had cast some spell that made Natsu forget what he was going to do! Kinda like when he ran from his house to the Guild and couldn't remember if he had locked the door, he had just forgotten the spell he was going to use and based of the confused looks of Gajeel's and Wendy's faces the same strange thing had happened to them.

And it was while they were trying to figure out what exactly had happened that even more skeletons, and these ones had their magic! One skeleton was made out of metal, one had black wind swirling around its bones, and one was just on fire! The slayers had quickly dispersed when those skeletons started to show up, and now here they were, hiding out around the room trying to figure out what had happened.

"Natsu, did you really forget your magic?" Happy questioned with an incredulous gaze, not really believing that the fire dragon slayer was quite that stupid but unable to shake his suspicion.

"No!...or at least, I don't think I did? I just kinda blanked out or somethin'." Natsu instantly defended himself before scratching his cheek in annoyance.

"…It's called Spell Steal, and it's one of the most powerful spells Priscilla has." A voice whispered somewhere over Natsu's shoulder, a voice he identified as Tiria after convincing himself it wasn't a ghost. "it's pretty obvious what the spell does, but I guess I'll explain it so you can understand. When you cast a spell around her and she uses that spell, she pretty much steals it and can give it to something else like, say, a reanimated skeleton."

"So, she steals magic? I thought you said she was the opposite of Wendy or somethin'."

"She is! She's just got a lot of different-." The two slayers were arguing when one of the skeletons, one covered in iron, turned the corner and turned its eyeless sockets in their direction.

"I found you~!" Priscilla called out in a sing-songy voice, somehow having seen them even if she wasn't there. The skeleton roared, it's voice incredibly dry and rattily, before it rushed forward with a hand axe held in its hand.

"Heh, I got this! Just 'cause some pile of bones has Gajeel's magic that won't be enough to stop me!" Natsu declared as he jumped to his feet and ignited his fists, if the crazy girl could steal spells then all he had to do was just use raw fire to win.

But his plans were thwarted when Priscilla herself leapt over a box on the far side of the row they were currently standing in, her right hand pointed forward and a cruel grin on her face. " **Enfeeble! Ether Drain!** " She shouted, a black glow appearing around the pointed appendage.

"Wha…!" Natsu shouted as, all of the sudden, he felt his knees start to tremble and the fire around his hands dim.  _What the heck! It feels like I just went ten rounds with Erza and Gray! Is this more of that stupid magic?_ Natsu questioned as the skeleton closed the gap, its axe held overhead as it prepared to attack the distracted slayer.

"Dumbass! Don't just stand there!" Tiria shouted out as she moved in front of the older slayer, water moving around her fists. " **Water Dragon Slayer's Flowing Strikes!** " She shouted just as the skeleton swung down, her own hand rising to meet it.

Natsu watched in surprise as, rather than loosing her hand like he would have expected, Tiria somehow deflected the axe of the much bigger skeleton to the side, sending the living dead off balance before the younger slayer promptly kicked it in its ribcage, sending it careening backwards. "Holy shit Tiria, how the heck did you do that?" The fire dragon slayer couldn't help but ask, a question that caused the water slayer to smirk in confidence.

"My slayer magic, duh." The green haired girl replied plainly as she turned to regard the still smiling Curse-girl. "Water doesn't have the force of fire, or the strength of iron, so I have to fight smarter than you guys. I flow around my opponents, weakening them until the current's strong enough to wash them away. That's how a water dragon fights."

"…wow, that sounded lame. Was that some kinda speech you practiced or somethin'?" Natsu couldn't help but reply, Tiria squawking in outrage and spinning around to glare up at the pink haired slayer.

"W-why you…! My dad taught me that speech! Don't you dare make fun of my dad!" The girl shouted before sneering and crossing her arms. "And I bet your just jealous that I get something cool to say while all you've got is some stupid scarf."

"My scarf is awesome and you know it!" Natsu returned with his own scowl, the two slayers continuing to trade fire while Priscilla couldn't help but tilt her head in confusion.

"…Well that's surprising, I've never seen someone get along so well with Tiria. You two must really like each other."

"How the heck did you get that idea?" Both slayers shouted out as they turned their glares to the crippling mage, said girl giggling sweetly.

"But sister Tiria, aren't you forgetting something? I've seen you fight a lot back in the institute, why would you think that I wouldn't know how to kill you after all these years?" she asked, Tiria paling slightly at the threat as Priscilla raised her hand. " **Stagnation, Enfeeble!** "

Natsu watched as the same black mist that had affected him earlier appeared around the green haired slayer as the reanimated skeleton rose back up and began to lurch forward. He assumed that the girl would simply perform the same kind of combo thingy she did the first time, but as the skeleton approached he realized that no, she couldn't. whatever weird magic the crazy girl was using had slowed her down enough to keep her from properly performing her counter.

So Natsu did the only thing he could think to do in such a situation, he grabbed the littler slayer around her waist and high tailed it out of there, Happy grabbing onto his scarf and hanging on for dear life. Normally, he wouldn't even consider running from an enemy, but based off the fact that the now squirming girl in his arms was far heavier than she should have been he was still under the effects of Priscilla's magic too, and he didn't exactly want to push his luck when they had more important things to do.

"Wha-!...Hey!...What…are…you…doing?" Tiria eventually managed to yell, Natsu staring down at her strangely as she struggled to speak.

"We gotta find Wendy if we're gonna have a chance to beat her…and what happened to your voice? Did you just get more stupid or somethin'?"

"She…slowed…me…I…think…can't…react…fast." The girl eventually answered, looking more and more frustrated with each word.

"Awww, you guys want to play hide and hunt again? But we just were playing that!" the insane assassin pouted somewhere behind them, the sound of even more skeletons roaring echoing though the storage room. "But I guess if you really want to, who am I to say no? Here we come~!"

The two slayers carefully made their way though the storage room, the debilitating spells wearing off as they dodged between boxes, before their enhanced ears picked up on the sound of combat. Leaping over a particularly large box, the two slayers found their other companions fighting off a horde of undead, Pantherlilly having transformed into his adult form while Carla flew Wendy out of the way of attacks.

"What's the matter guys? Can't take out a few skeletons?" Natsu taunted as he landed amongst a particularly large group of skeletons, sending fire at whatever wasn't alive.

"Shut it Salamander! These things ain't as weak as they should be!" Gajeel growled out as he tried to swing his iron dragon sword though one of the armored skeletons, the pile of bones only staggering backwards as opposed to being cut in two like the black-haired slayer had hoped.

"Hmm, they are far stronger than simply reanimated bodies, and do not attack in a standard format." Pantherlilly mused out loud as he grappled a skeleton that was holding two daggers, sending the screaming undead over his head and into a nearby crate.

"Awaa, these things are really scary Carla!"

"Stop crying child! This isn't the time or place to complain!" The white Exceed chided her companion as the two dodged a bullet shot by one of the gathered dead.

"Hey water squirt, you got any idea why these things are so tough?" Gajeel called out, Tiria turning her glare on the iron slayer for a moment before returning her attention to the fight.

"…Necromancy doesn't create dead to use…it uses the dead you've made yourself." The girl answered, sounding more serious than she ever had before.

Wendy gasped in fear, her eyes wide as she held her hands over her mouth. "Y-you mean that these are-."

"That's right! These are all the people I've killed!" Priscilla answered as the skeletons parted before her, her smile only growing wider as the Fairies grimaced. "My friends here all made up of all my targets, all the strong people I've fought because it sounded fun…and all the people I killed just for fun!" she continued before pouting slightly. "And even though I won't be able to save your magic after you die, I really, really, want to add all of you to my collection! That way Sister Lucy won't get lonely without her old friends! And you can come back to working with us again Tiria!" The girl explained, sounding more and more excited with each passing second. "So, can you all just please die here? I promise that I won't make it too painful for you so pretty please?" She asked as her hand began to glow with the same black light that Natsu knew was her magic.  **"Stagnation, Enfeeble!"** She chanted as the black smoke lashed out for the Fairies.

But the black magic never reached them, as Wendy held out her hands with a face full of determination. "I won't let you hurt my friends anymore!  **Vernier, Arms!"** She chanted, the light of her enchantments canceling out Priscilla's curses.

For the first time since they had seen the younger magician, Priscilla's smile faltered, her childlike grin replaced with a shocked expression. "Ehhh?! Y-you can use enchantments? No fair!" she cried out as she started to leap backwards though the crowd of skeletons, clearly not at ease with the situation.

But no one present was willing to let her get away, and after trading a single glance, both Tiria and Natsu began to pool magic in their lungs.

"… **Fire Dragon's Roar!** "

"… **Water Dragon's Roar!** " they both shouted as twin spouts of fire and water shot forth into the room, their twin breaths colliding a few feet away from the undead army and forming a steam explosion. White hot steam flooding the room.

Priscilla screamed as the water vapor washed across her body, her hands covering her face in order to shield herself in pure reflex. The skeletons, having been moving forward, all stopped abruptly and stood limply, their heads down and arms at their sides.

"Now! Take her down now, while she's distracted!" Tiria shouted mercilessly, not that Natsu could really blame her after hearing the crazy chick talk about keeping their corpses around. And so Natsu rushed forward, his flames igniting around his fist so that he could take her down…

…or that was what he intended to do, but instead the fire dragon slayer found himself flying sideways into one of the many wooden walls, and instead of stopping, went right on though, when he was struck by something very hard and very painful in his side.

He could hear the startled calls for his name, but due to how stunned he was by his unknown attacker he couldn't answer back immediately. The force of whatever had struck him hadn't really gotten any weaker, carrying him two more walls before he finally started to slow down and roll across the floor.

"Oww! That hurt damn it!" the pink haired slayer cursed as he looked down at his stomach to try and figure what the hell had hit him. He had expected to find some kind of pirate weapon, or maybe a bullet, sticking out of his side. But instead he found what looked like a stone lance, about the size of one of Erza's swords, stuck to his side. "Aw man, I liked this vest." Natsu continued as he yanked out the piece of stone, the blood running down his side baerly bothering him beyond making him want to return the favor in spades. "Alright, who did that?" He all but yelled as he looked back at the hole he had made in the wall. He was expecting some kind of pirate captain or somethin', or if he was really lucky maybe the Heartfilia bastard that was responsible for this whole mess, but beyond seeing some skeletons moving a few rooms back no one was showing themselves.

"huh…weird…oh well, I'm getting' back in there!" Natsu eventually said with a shrug as he jumped to his feet and started to run back the way he had been sent. However, he couldn't take more than a single step before an arrow impacted the deck not an inch in front of his foot, the fire dragon slayer freezing with an "eep" at how close he had come to being pinned to the floor.

"…Target identified. Proceeding with mission." A voice, a voice that was far colder and passive than should be possible echoed out of the shadows of the mostly empty corridor he was standing in. a voice that Natsu had been hoping to hear, just not like this.

The fire dragon slayer whipped around to stare wide eyed down the corridor, his ears barely picking up on the sounds of someone walking in his direction, their footsteps nearly silent. "N-no way…why…why Luce?!" He shouted out as his partner emerged from the gloom, a bow of pale white light held in her hands with an arrow knocked and pointed right at his chest.

"Master has tasked me with defeating you, intruder. Surrender and I will make it as painless as possible."

* * *

Erza wanted to grit her teeth in frustration as she once again swung at movement in the mist only to miss her mark, though she did have her dignity as the most powerful woman in Fairy Tail and as such only narrowed her eyes in annoyance.

True to its name, the blood mist spell the assassin had used had caused a crimson cloud to rise from the wounds of the defeated pirates and filling the hallway, reducing their visibility to almost nothing and filling the air with the metallic scent of death. Juvia had tried to wash it away, but it remained stubbornly in place. Even Gray, having created walls of ice in order to separate themselves from the crimson mist, had only been able to hold it back for a few seconds before it burned though his ice, apparently having some sort of acidic properties.

The red-haired warrior had realized immediately the disadvantage they were in and attempted to order a retreat. But the moment they tried to move back the way they came a blade of blood lashed out from the mist, Gray having to roll backwards in order to avoid the blow. Their foe moved with impressive speed considering how quiet he was, barely disturbing the mist as he moved around them.

"Damn it this sucks" Gray complained as the three mages backed up against each other, their triangle formation giving them the best defense they could manage against the mage hiding in the mist. "How the hell did he even manage to pull the blood from all the pirates? We lightning shouldn't have cut them enough to do this." He continued, his voice falling to a whisper in order to prevent their enemy from learning of their confusion.

Indeed, Erza had been pondering that very question herself. Her attack hadn't involved any slashing of any kind, only electrical burns, so how exactly had their previous opponents suffered such wounds? Juvia and Gray had made use of their magic's true, but for nearly every single pirate to have suffered one?  _Did he…did he wound his own comrades in order to create this mist?_ Erza couldn't help but pale at the thought, she understood these assassins were callous but to go to that extent? How far would they then have to go in order to defeat someone like that?

"Your reactions are getting slower Fairy Tail mages…it appears that the end is approaching faster than I anticipated. Unexpected, but not unappreciated." The blood mages voice called out, his voice seemingly coming from multiple directions at once.

"Show yourself Villain! Such tactics are unbecoming of a mage!" Erza shouted as Juvia cried out, apparently having just barely dodged an attack aimed at her neck.

"I am no mage, I am an assassin. Your morals do not apply to someone like me." The boy continued as yet another blade of blood lashed out at the red-haired mage, Erza just barely managing to deflect it with the kite shield she had summoned. "Magic is simply a tool to kill, a more efficient version of a blade, not some sacred power that must be respected. Nothing but the evolution of murder. And I am simply its instrument, a tool of murder."

"Your wrong! Magic isn't something that cruel!" Juvia of all people shouted out at the mist, her gaze fierce. "Magic is something that unites, Juvia is certain!"

"Well said Juvia." Erza agreed before turning her attention back to the fog. "While it is true that magic is a power used for battle, magic is also a force that unites those who walk along its path. Magic allows us to find comrades who share our pain, or happiness, our lives with. It was not meant for what you claim!"

"…perhaps, perhaps not. In the end, it doesn't matter. Because you will still die, leaving only my truth standing." The boy continued, a whisper of an emotion in his voice as his form was briefly visible. "You will die, mages, and our Father will rewrite the truth of this world. That's all there is too it."

Erza immediately reacted to her brief sighting, throwing her sword into the mist even as she summoned another to take its place. But judging from the sound of metal striking wood she had missed her shot. She refused to allow it to show on her face, but Erza had yet to figure out a means to victory. Considering how far their opponent was going in order to keep them from landing their attacks, he likely didn't have much in the way of defensive magics. But with the mists unknown properties Erza was hesitant to go within the smoke and on the offensive. Which only left drawing him out. But to do that they would have to present a worthwhile target…something that could mean the death of whomever he chose to go after.

"Oi Erza, you figure something out yet? We're sittin' ducks here." Gray muttered as he once again created an Ice wall behind them, cutting off one direction of attack but clearly costing him, sweat beginning to cover the ice mages forehead as exhaustion began to set in.

Erza gritted her teeth in frustration for a moment before answering. "perhaps…but there are risks."

"Well what is it?"

"I believe I could defeat him easily with my blades…but we need to draw him out before." Erza explained quietly as the group tensed at the sounds of someone moving on the other side of the mist.

"Why don't we just fill the area with attacks and get him that way?" Gray continued, Erza shaking her head in denial before he had even finished speaking.

"It is unlikely he will simply wait for us to finish casting such an attack. And if we allow him to fall back and regroup then we will only be opening ourselves up for an attack were will be even less prepared for." Erza explained with a grim expression. "No, we must finish this here, or risk not finishing this fight at all. I believe that I can draw him out using one of my less armored forms, but I do not have means to immobilize him"

"Damn…then if that's how it is, I think I've got a plan." Gray announced, Erza turning to stare at him with a questioning gaze. But the ice mage didn't answer, instead turning his attention to Juvia. "Oi Juvia, you got enough magic yet to help?"

"…Juvia apologizes, but Juvia's magic is still only just enough for her to maintain her Water Body. For Juvia to attack in such a state is…" The rain woman denied with a shake of her head, the look in her eyes clearly showing her frustration.

"Nah, that's fine. Just focus on keepin' yourself safe."

"…I'm surprised you three can find the time to chat in such a situation. Perhaps I should change that… **Bloody Dagger.** " The man's voice commented from within the mist before a series of the aforementioned daggers flew out from the same direction, the blood colored blades seemingly drawn to the Fairy Tail mages hearts.

Feeling a brief moment of panic before stuffing the feeling into the back of her mind, Erza moved forward and requiped once again into her Adamantine armor and placed herself between her friends and the attack. The daggers impacted her magically enhanced shield with a shrill metallic clang. But rather than falling to the ground as the daggers should have, they remained firm against her metal defenses, pushing her back and slowly making their way through her shield.

"You can't stop them; those daggers will pursue your blood until they draw it or I lose control of the magic." The assassin commented from somewhere to Erza's right, clearly moving to a better position.

 _No more time!_ "Gray!" Erza shouted over her shoulder, her tense tone clearly conferring how dire the situation had become.

And fortunately, the Ice make mage understood just from her tone of voice, the shirtless mage pressing his hands together and gathering an impressive amount of magic. "Alright, ya emo bastard! Prepare to face one of my greatest creations!"

"No, I don't think I will." The dull assassin countered, his voice coming right from Erza's right, the side that…

 _He's targeting Juvia!_ Erza realized a second too late as she desperately turned, all thoughts of the blood daggers currently pressing against her shield gone from her mind. However, before she could even get her head turned a wet slicing noise echoed though the corridor. A noise that made Erza's throat close in agony. She had failed, once again she had failed to protect her comrades. How could she ever face Grandpa Rob when her time eventually came if she still failed to protect her precious people?

But when she finished her turn, she was not greeted with the sight of Juvia being cut down like she had anticipated, although the sight she did find was hardly better.

Gray had moved faster than she would have fought possible, moving to cover the blue haired water mage. His left hand was held out, almost as if he was reaching for something, and in the center of his palm Erza could see a blood red dagger piercing his flesh, no blood falling from the likely agony inducing wound.

 _No! He will be able to manipulate Gray's blood!_ Erza screamed in her head as her armor vanished into a blinding golden light, leaving her without any form of armor and focusing all her magical energy into her Crimson Sakura blade. She moved forward, faster than what most eyes could see, intending to cut down. She expected him to dodge, as he had proven himself to be quite agile in the past, but to her surprise he did nothing, only stared at the wound he had caused with a surprised expression. And while she couldn't help but be curious as to why, she wasn't about to question her good fortune.

With a slash that was nearly faster than sound, Erza sliced the blood mage across his back, his eyes widening in shock for a brief moment before collapsing. The blood mist seemed to shudder for a moment before falling back to the ground, the dagger still stuck in Gray's palm following suit just a moment later.

"Y-y…you…" The assassin managed to force out from his spot on the floor, staring up at Gray with a look equal parts admiration and shock.

"Heh…figured that you'd go after Juvia rather than face me. Very assasiny of you." Gray commented with a pained smirk, clutching his hand closer to his chest as he stared down at his fallen opponent.

"G-Gray! Juvia apologizes! J-Juvia should have been prepared…she should have-." The rain woman apologized profusely before Gray waved her off with his uninjured hand. But all their attention were drawn to the man still laying on his back staring up at them when he continued to speak.

"You…you froze your own blood to stop my magic?" He muttered in his daze, Erza sucking in a startled breath as her eyes shot back up.

"Not much of a secret technique. But hell, at least it worked."

"What?!" The scarlet haired mage half screamed in outrage as she examined her comrades wound. And sure enough, she could see a thin layer of frost covering the ice mages left arm up to his elbow.  _True…even if he could manipulate Gray's blood he cannot move it if its frozen…but the risk!_ "Gray! How could you be so reckle-." She started to berate before swallowing her complaints when Gray shot her a look she knew all too well, a look that spoke volumes about how little time they had to waste.

So instead she settled for damage control. "…How bad?" she asked as she moved forward to inspect the damage, making sure to keep one eye on the bleeding assassin below them.

"…like a ton of tiny blades all over my arm." The ice mage admitted with a shrug, wincing slightly when he pulled something he shouldn't have. "But I should be able to thaw it out without too much permanent damage."

"Not good enough." Erza denied. "You and Juvia will seek out Wendy for treatment. Juvia, I am entrusting Gray to you. Do not allow either of you two to suffer any more harm. Understood." She ordered, the water mage nodding her head with a conviction Erza found admirable.

"Juvia understands, Juvia will not allow anyone to touch her precious Gray." And with that the two mages began to slowly make their way back the way they came, Gray using the shorter woman's shoulder to help him walk.

Erza waited until they had vanished around a corner before glaring down at their defeated opponent. "…you did not attack us with your own blood…why?" She couldn't help but ask, the scarlet haired mage swallowing her fury in light of the fact that this poor soul was likely someone who had suffered just as much as their blonde companion had.

"…I cannot manipulate my own blood." The boy admitted before covering his eyes with his arm. "…I failed my master…I failed One and Two…kill me, that is the fate of a tool that fails to achieve results." The boy commanded as he stared up at Erza once again, his gaze empty of all emotion…almost.

"No, I will not." Erza denied as she crossed her arms in order to keep her hands occupied. "You claim to feel nothing, that you are simply a weapon, but I see fear in your eyes…why?"

"…I've never seen anyone like you and your comrades. You do not fear death. You do not hesitate to put yourself in harms way...why?" The boy admitted as Erza summoned a pair of magical sealing lacrima cuffs from her pocket dimension.

"Because we will do anything for our comrades of course, would you not do the same for yours?" she asked as she placed the cuffs around his wrists before glaring into his eyes, not bothering to hide her fury. "Now then, you will tell me where exactly the command room in this or there will be consequences."

* * *

Tiria wanted to curse, she wanted to curse so badly that her tongue felt like it was on fire. Everything had gone down the drain. Not only had Priscilla managed to catch them, and she was playing with even less cards in her deck than the last time the water dragon slayer had seen her, but her worst fears had been realized.

Right when the dumbass fire dragon slayer had been just about to finish off the insane necromancer he had been struck by an arrow of stone, an arrow of stone that Tiria instantly recognized, her heart both leaping to her throat and freezing over at the same time. The arrow had carried the shocked slayer though one of the walls, a wall that was quickly covered in a wall of stone only seconds after he had disappeared.

"what the hell was that!" Gajeel shouted out as he swung his mace arm though a group of skeletons, his body alternating between glowing and dimming depending on whose magic was currently affecting him.

"Big sister! She came to help me!" Priscilla shouted out from her spot behind the skeletons, the crazy kid having fallen back in light of Wendy's enhancements. "Oh, I just knew she would realize that she belonged on our side!"

"S-sister? Wh-what does she mean Ms. Tiria?" Wendy questioned, her fellow younger slayer panting in exhaustion due to her constant enhancements.

"…It's Lucy, she's somewhere around here." Tiria forced out as she clenched her fists.  _Damn it, we were too slow! I should've just come here by myself. If I didn't have these idiots slowing me down I could've gotten her out of here before anyone realized she was gone…damn._

"No! Lucy wouldn't do that! She wouldn't betray us!" Happy shouted out from his spot behind Pantherlilly.

"But that was her arrow just now, she…fired on Natsu." Carla denied, looking uncomfortable with the situation…at least Tiria thought that's how she looked, she wasn't exactly familiar at reading feline expressions.

 _Is she being forced to help them?...no, she wouldn't fight against her friends even if that bastard did have some kind of dirt on her…then controlled?_ "Shit." Tiria finally cursed out loud, ignoring Carla's hiss about "Not cursing around Wendy" or something like that. "We've gotta finish this soon. There's only a few ways to beat Lucy and I seriously doubt your dumbass fire boy will figure any of them out."

"Tiria! How can you say something like that?" Priscilla cried out in shock, looking absolutely horrified, though the green haired slayer seriously doubted it was for the same reason that any of the fairies were thinkin'. "You know that we're only supposed to hunt down our big sister when ordered by our father! That's what we were made for after all!" she continued before sending another wave of skeletons at their group.

"…Is that true? We're you truly trained simply to hunt down Lucy?" one of the Faries questioned, Tiria not bothering to check who.

"…Lucy doesn't exactly need any help fighting if you haven't noticed." The water dragon slayer couldn't help but scoff as she sent a bolt of pressurized water at a particularly dense group of living dead, the bolt of water knocking them over with all the impact of solid stone. "She never failed in her mission, never lost a fight once she was trained…Subject One was just that scary back in her prime…and the nature of her magic made her pretty unpredictable."

"So, we were brought in to keep her under control." Tiria finished as she gestured vaguely at Priscilla. "Someone to slow her down, someone to manipulate her body from the inside, someone to enlargen or shrink her wounds…and someone to keep her busy." She finished as she pointed at herself. "The whole institute, created for a single purpose."

"And what a lovely purpose it was!" Priscilla added as she sighed dreamily. "We killed baddies and made the world a better place just like our father said we would!"

Tiria narrowed her eyes at Priscilla's gushing praise, one word she used in particular itching in the back of her mind. "Priscilla…why do you call that bastard father?"

"Wha- how could you say that Tiria? Why would I call such a kind and compassionate man by anything else?" The blue-eyed mage questioned in honest confusion, Tiria beginning to feel sick to her stomach as she started to put the pieces together.

"well, I donno…other than the fact that out of all of us, you actually have a dad." Tiria threw out casually despite the fact that all of her enhanced senses were zeroed in on the disabling mage.

Priscilla's innocent eyes widened considerably, the skeletons under her control slowing for a second as her control faltered. "my…father…b-but my father is…here."

"Oi Squirt, what the hell are ya doin'? Gajeel quietly asked as he jumped back to Tiria's side, his voice low but both the Slayers and Exceeds in the room having good enough hearing to pick up his words loud and clear.

"I'm checking something. Don't attack right now." Tiria shot back before turning her attention back to Priscilla. "You know, your parents? You almost never shut up about your life back in Malba when we were in that dingy cell. Now that I think about it, did you ever go back and see them like you talked about?" She asked making sure to keep her tone neutral, like she was just talking about the weather.

But the effect on Priscilla was anything but normal. The brown-haired girl staggered backwards as if struck, her undead creations now coming to a complete stop. "N-no…that's not true…THAT'S NOT TRUE!" She started to scream, her fingers digging into her skull with such force Tiria wouldn't be surprised if she had drawn blood. "My family is my sisters and brothers! My father is the man who gives us missions! I never had a family outside of the institute!"

"Wha…what's wrong with her, she sounds like she's in pain." Wendy whispered, Tiria wondering why she would even care that an enemy was hurt but not commenting on it.

"What the heck are you talking about Priscilla? Isn't your mom the one who gave you that pink cloth Lucy always wore? Somethin' about it being a good luck charm or something like that? Why would Jude give you something pink? He never gives us anything." Tiria continued tearing into her fellow assassin, Priscilla flinching at each point she made.

"Shut up…SHUT UP!" Priscilla screamed out as her eyes focused on the green haired mage, the façade of innocence shattering and revealing a feral, desperate look in her eyes. "Y-you're just lying to me! Trying to confuse me and turn me against father…yes, that's right! This is all your fault!" her voice quieted as, nearly as one, all the skeletons turned to stare at the water dragon slayer. "You're the one who betrayed us…who left us…and if I get rid of you…then everything will be right again!" She finished before beginning to laugh manically, to the point where even Tiria felt disturbed. "So, die!"

And just like that every skeleton in the room launched forward with reckless abandon, their bodies glowing with black magic. Tiria covered her fists in so much water that it practically covered her entire front.  _Ok…maybe pushing her wasn't such a great idea. " **Water Dragons swirling barrier**!" _ She shouted as the water expanded to form a miniature whirlpool to keep the skeletons away, at least for a little while.

"Wha-what happened to her? She sounds even crazier than before!" Happy cried out as he and Carla retreated to a particularly tall crate, hoping to stay out of the way of the renewed attacks.

"…memory manipulation magic." Tiria said in way of explanation, both other dragon slayers turning to stare at her in a mixture of confusion and shock. "That damn bastard manipulated their memories in order to keep them loyal…and that's probably what he did to get Lucy on his side."

"…Damn." Was all Gajeel said, the iron dragon slayer looking like he had bitten into something rotten. The Wendy girl on the other hand looked apocalyptic. Like someone had ruined every holiday at once for her.

"To do something like that…it's just too sad."

"Yes, yes, it's really sad. But can we please focus on the evil skeleton army that's trying to kill us!" Tiria couldn't help but scream as a few of the skeletons broke through her barrier.  _Damn it, I'm no good at direct fights like this!_

"I'll kill you…I'll kill you all! That'll make my head stop hurting!  **Death and Decay!** " Priscilla shouted, a cloud of even darker than normal magic emanating from her hands. "You'll all fall to my ultimate spell, a spell that eradicates anything that it touches!" She continued as the cloud moved forward like a snake striking at its prey, the boxes and floor that came into contact with the could appearing to almost liquidate. The wood seemingly ageing years in a second. Wendy attempted to blow the cloud away, but whatever it was, it wasn't physical and therefore not something that could be affected by wind.

Every cell in Tiria's body screamed for her to flee, her instincts warning her to not get hit. But the cloud was increasing in size to the point that it had cut off their escape routes before continuing to rapidly approach…there was nowhere to go.

Tiria fell to her knees, a feeling of powerlessness overcoming her. but to her shock the other two slayers stepped forward. Didn't they get what was about to happen? They couldn't stop this, couldn't survive it. "How…how are you guys still standing in the face of this?"

"Gehi…'cause we're Fairy Tail. Its what we do." Gajeel smirked as he held out his hand and transformed it into a blade. "we ain't gonna give up just everything's gone to shit."

"Exactly! And we won't give up on a friend!" Wendy added as her hands curled into fists, looking both scared and confident at the same time, a strange combination. "And we don't abandon people in bad situations! Plus, I'm an enhancer, my magic exists to fight against this kind of magic." She declared as her body began to glow with a greenish light. " **Sky dragon slayer mass enchantment:**   **Re-Raise!** " the blue haired mage shouted as she held her hands out in front of her.

Tiria waited for a second, curious as to what the spell had done. But nothing changed, the cloud of death continued on uninhibited. And so Tiria simply closed her eyes, waiting for her inevitable end. The death magic washed across them, the wood underneath their feet decaying almost instantly…but she didn't feel any different? She assumed that having your flesh decay would be pretty painful but…she felt fine?

Tiria's eyes snapped open in shock to see that no, she wasn't dying, courtesy of a strange green glow that had surrounded not just her own body, but the forms of the other two slayers and the three Exceeds.

"My enchantment prevents any negative spells from taking effect on my allies! I won't let your magic hurt us anymore!" Wendy shouted out, sweat beading her brow at the shear exertion of keeping her spell active and on so many people. "Gajeel! Tiria! My spell will keep you safe from her curses. Defeat her!"

"Gee hii, ya got it shrimp." The iron dragon slayer returned as he held out his arm, an insane amount of magical energy gathering. " **Dragon Slayer's Secret Art, Karma Demon: Iron God Katana!** " and with that the black-haired man's right arm transformed into a jagged blade brimming with power. Faster than her eyes could track, the red eyed mage struck. His bladed arm a blur as it lashed out, the skeletons unfortunate enough to be caught in his attack practically disintegrating. "Oi water girl! Finish her!" he shouted, not that Tiria needed an invitation.

She moved, moved with all the speed and fluidity of a raging stream. The few remaining skeletons attempted to stop her but she dodged them by a hairsbreadth as she rushed forward until she was face to face with Priscilla.

 **"…Dragon Slayer's Secret Art, water dragons Pressure needles."** Tiria called out, all the water she could possibly conjure at one moment gathering between her fingers to form six water needles between her knuckles, each one capable of piercing diamond. She lashed out at Priscilla's heart, the training of her childhood drawing her attack to a fatal spot, but before she could strike her eyes met Priscilla's own. And though the hate, the fury, the madness…there was fear in her sea blue eyes. A fear of death, the sorrow of knowing her fate…a look that Tiria knew all too well. She had seen it in mirrors nearly every day after escaping from that hellish place.

 _…Damn, I've gotten soft._ Tiria couldn't help but complain to herself as she redirected her attack to the center of the disablers chest. Three of her needles passing though magic and flesh with almost no resistance.

Priscilla stared down in shock for a brief second, almost as if she couldn't believe that she had been defeated, before collapsing like a puppet with its strings cut. Tiria catching her at the last second as her water needles vanished.

"Did you…did you kill her?" Wendy asked, sounding more than a little off put by the thought of killing. Tiria scoffing in response as she pulled out a pair of ropes from her pack.

"Nah, just stopped her ability to use ethernano for a while. Guess the shock of it knocked her out or somethin'." Tiria explained with a wave of her hand before beginning to tie up the now unconscious crazy girl. "We need to hurry up and find Natsu and Lucy. That idiot can't hope to win if Lucy's gone back to being Subject One then that idiot doesn't stand a chance."

"Eh, you'd be surprised." Gajeel actually refuted, drawing a curious gaze from the younger slayers. "If there's one thing that idiots good at, its saving his partner from trouble."

"T-that's right, Natsu wont fail Lucy!" Wendy agreed, Happy shouting out "Aye." From somewhere above them. "B-but he could probably still use our help, so let's go find them!"

Their group all stood, ready to move in the direction that Natsu had been sent flying, but before they could make it more than a few steps a voice called out to them. A voice that Tiria took a moment to recognize as the blue haired girl that was always hanging off the arm of the stripper.

"Ms. Wendy! Are you here? Gray requires your help!"

"Juvia? What is…oh my god-Gray! What happened to your arm!?" The blue haired slayer questioned in a panic as she rushed over to the grimacing Ice mage, said ice mage clutching at his frozen arm.

"Well…you know. The usual stuff." He tried to joke, sucking in a painful breath when he accidently jostled his wounded appendage.

"T-this will take a while to heal…please try not to move." The blue haired slayer commanded as she kneeled down and placed her hands over the wounded hand, a green glow emanating from her palms.

"…Guess we're stayin' around here for a bit then. Rain girl's got barley any magic left after all." Gajeel muttered, sounding almost like he was pouting over not getting the chance to go after Lucy.

"Right…" Tiria agreed as she tried to put on a frustrated expression. In truth, the green haired dragon slayer couldn't help but feel a little bit relived over not having to go after Subject One by herself. If she had managed to defeat Natsu…if she was prowling the ship looking for an opportunity to assassinate them…then they didn't stand a chance.

_Damn it Natsu, you'd better do what you said you'd do and get her back. Otherwise we're all gonna end up full of arrows._

* * *

Natsu jumped back desperately in order to avoid what must have been the fourth stone arrow Luce had fired at him, this one exploding into shrapnel just like all the others. Ever since his partner had shown up he had been trying his hardest to avoid her attacks, but if there was one thing Natsu had learned about his blonde friend it was that she was pretty damn good with a bow and based off of the fact that nearly every attack she had thrown at him was aimed at a vital spot she wasn't exactly playing around.

"Common Luce stop it! Why the hell are you attacking me? Is this 'cause of all the food I ate from your room? I'll pay you back!" Natsu shouted out as he rolled behind a wall, two stone arrows piercing the ground right where he had been crouching a second ago. "Or is it because I keep sneaking into your bed? Or was it…" Natsu trailed off as Luce's scent vanished from the corridor she had been standing in seconds ago.  _What the hell?_ Natsu thought as he peered around the bend, his enhanced sight not picking up on a single strand of her golden hair.

"…I do not know why you call me by that name, but it doesn't matter." Luce's chilling voice whispered from right behind him, Natsu whipping around to see Lucy pointing her weird energy bow thingy at him, an arrow of shadow knocked on its string. "You are my target, and I will eliminate you.  **Shadow Strike, Piercing Shadow.** " And with that she released the arrow. The shadow bolt striking Natsu in the shoulder and sending him flying backwards as the spell drilled into his flesh.

"Gahh…I'm not going down that easily!" Natsu shouted, both in pain and fury as he flared his flames, his fire managing to burn away the darkness before he was sent too far away. But with Luce, any distance was too much distance, as the moment Natsu had stopped sliding backwards two more arrows flew at him. And with no other choice Natsu brought up his arms in order to defend himself, the arrows striking his arms in places that would've killed him if he hadn't defended himself. "Loke! Get out here! Luce's acting all weird!"

"…Has the fear gotten to you? There is no one named Loke present." Luce refuted with a confused tilt of her head. But Natsu could see the light lacrima on her bracer shinning for a brief moment before blinking away.

 _Something's blocking him? Damn…although I guess that's why she hasn't summoned any greater elementals yet, so don't have to worry about anyone else attackin' me._ Natsu thought as he took a second to inspect the damage on his arm, two new cuts joining the previous wounds his partner had inflicted on him.  _She's switched to shadow, which means she won't be able to go back to earth attacks for a while…got a figure out what the heck's happening before she scores a lucky hit._

"Why are you doin' this Luce? I thought you told the old man you wouldn't kill again? You're not exactly keeping up your end of the deal if you keep aiming for my head. Heck, not even Ice nuts goes that far in our fights."

Lucy's eyes narrowed for a second, almost like she was trying to work something out, before her cold eyes once again zeroed in on the pink haired slayer. "…Your trying to confuse me. To buy yourself time…it wont work."

"Damn it Luce its me! Its Natsu! Did you really forget about us? About Fairy Tail?" Natsu shouted out, his anger and confusion over the situation finally getting to him.

"…How surprising One, I don't recall teaching you to be this chatty with your targets. Perhaps we will need to readjust you before your next deployment." A new, older voice called out from somewhere in the gloom. Natsu's turning slightly to see an older guy strolling down the corridor in the direction of their fight. He was old, not quite Gramp's age but close, and had blonde mustache that covered his face. But the really important thing that Natsu noticed was the man's smell, a metallic scent that Natsu knew all too well.

 _He smell's like blood. He's not just some old bastard._ Natsu decided as he tensed for combat.

"I am sorry Father. The target has greater instincts than my previous targets. I will finish this fight shortly." Lucy apologized in her strange monotone voice before pulling the energy string on her new bow back but was stopped when the man held out his hand in front of her.

"No, no, there's no reason to rush. Besides, the young man deserves some form of explanation before he's sent on his way to his next life." The man chuckled, his laugh grating on Natsu's nerves for some reason, before he turned back to bow slightly. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Natsu Dragneel. I am Jude Heartfilia, former head of the Heartfilia institute."

Natsu's blood froze in his veins, a feeling he had only experienced a few times in his life due to his fiery nature, at the man's name, a name that Natsu had hated from the first time he had heard it. "You…you're the bastard who did this to Luce!" He screamed out before launching a breath attack down the hallway.

However, rather than roasting the arrogant prick like he thought would happen, the flames simply passing by the two without even singing them. Jude chuckled slightly as he adjusted his tie, Natsu's anger only growing worse at his apparent dismissal as a threat.

"How very rude, though I can't say I'm terribly shocked considering where you come from." Jude commented as the embers continued to swirl around him. "While I applaud your dedication to your comrades, the person you have come here for does not, and cannot, exist. They have a far greater purpose in life than simple guild work."

"That's not somethin' for you to decide." Natsu refuted with a growl, as even he was smart enough to read between those lines, and what he read just pissed him off all the more. "You turned her into a weapon! You made her kill her mom just for more power! How can you claim like you know what she wants?!"

"What she wants? What an irrelevant consideration." Jude scoffed, Luc- no, Subject One tilting her head in confusion at what they were talking about. "She is meant to rule, to preserve our future…and I will be there to ensure she is on the proper course."

"Ha! So that's it?" Natsu scoffed with an arrogant grin as he crossed his arms. "You're tryin' to make it sound like your all selfless, but your just after power! You're like a two-bit cartoon villain!" the pink haired slayer continued to mock. Jude's face turning dark red in fury before he managed to get control over his emotions again.

"You may say what you wish. But I, for one, will not close my eyes to the chaos caused by mankind's reckless use of magic and these false demons born from darkness…Subject One, we no longer have the time to waste on these guild mages. Deal with this fool, and then finish off all the other intruders on my ship." And with that Jude Heartfilia turned away.

"Hey! I'm not done with you yet! Get back here!" Natsu shouted out as he took a step forward, intending to beat down the man who had caused all this. But he could only take that single step before an arrow of shadow struck the ground in front of him. "Oh, common Luce! I need to beat that guy down to figure out what he did to you!"

"While I do not understand what you are referring to, or who this Luce person is. My orders are clear regardless of what you have to say. I will kill you, and then kill all other invaders. That's all there is to it."

"And I'll stop you, 'cause I know that you'll never forgive yourself when you wake up and find out what you did." Natsu refuted with a smile. "…I haven't quite worked out how to fix you yet, but I'm working on it!"

"…You are a confusing target." Subject One calmly stated as a ball of lighting appeared hovering over her shoulder while she drew her bowstring back. " **Thunder strike, debilitating arcs!** " she shouted, releasing a blot of electricity from her arrow that bounced across the hallway.

Natsu quickly jumped back, having learned over the years how much lightning could hurt from his many fights with Laxus. And his quick thinking ended up saving him, as the area he had been standing in moments ago was now filled with miniature bolts of electricity, almost forming a cage around where the arrow struck.  _Ok, so she used Earth, Shadows, and lightning…so she's got water, wind, light, and fire left…but all of those are really strong. And in these corridors, she doesn't even really need to aim to hit me. Gotta lead her somewhere more open._ Natsu determined as he jumped around trying hard to avoid Luce's arrows, only managing to dodge them by the narrowest of margins. Of course, the real issue was that there wasn't a really big, wide open place on the ship to fight. And if he didn't find something soon then Wendy's Troia spell would wear off, and that wouldn't be a good thing to happen in the middle of a fight.

 _Alright then, if I can't find a room to fight in…then I'll just make one myself!_ Natsu thought as he rounded a corner to find yet another long hallway, his flames roaring to life on both his arms. " **Fire dragon's wing attack!** " He shouted as he whipped his flames all around him, his dragon enhanced flames easily crushing and burning away the wood leaving him with plenty of room for a good brawl.

Unfortunately, his wing attack was just the opening Subject One appeared to be waiting for, as the brainwashed blonde rushed in with a cold look, in her eyes until she was practically in his face. Before he could even think a question as to what she was doing, the brown eyed girl had somehow managed to pull Natsu to the ground and lock her legs around both his right arm and neck and pull him to the ground.

 _Oh, son of a- I forgot crazy Luce knows how to fight close up too!_ Natsu cursed as he struggled to remove himself from her hold, the fire dragon slayer finding that, despite how tiny she looked sometimes, Luce's legs might as well have been made out of steel for how much headway he was making against them.  _Ok then, plan B. this might hurt a bit Luce, but hey, at least you got that Weave thingy to make ya better._ Natsu quickly flared his magic, his fire responding to his commands and immolating his body. However, much to both his shock and pride, Luce's grip didn't falter in the slightest. If anything, the legs around his neck only tightened.

"…Thunder elemental, attack." Lucy ordered, the weird ball of electricity pulsing slightly before delivering an electrical shock to the now slightly panicky fire mage…but Natsu was shocked to feel that he didn't feel much of anything from the attack. With all the times that he had been hit by Laxus's attacks he knew how much pain he should be in now and Luce's spirit was barely doing a tenth of what the blonde slayer was capable of putting out with even no effort at all…it was like Luce wasn't trying to attack him. But that didn't make any sense, she was Subject One right now…right?

And that's when it hit him. A realization that slammed into his thoughts so fast that Natsu actually forgot to struggle for a second before his desire to breathe again pushed back into his thoughts. So, with a battle cry that would've put the stripper to shame, Natsu put everything he had into his arm. Slowly, but surely, the fire dragon slayer's immobilized limb began to rise into the air, taking the now startled blonde up with it. With his teeth grit due to the sheer effort behind his movements, Natsu turned over with all the strength he could muster, intending to slam his locked limb back onto the ships deck.

But if there was one thing Natsu could say about crazy Luce, it was that she was fast on her feet. As before he could even get her close to the wooden deck she had released her hold and flipped backwards until she was pretty far away and had already drawn another arrow. Her cold eyes watching him from behind her weapon.

"Ouch…damn Luce, I forgot how strong you are. Reminds me of that time you attacked me after I beat down Gajeel." Natsu couldn't help but complain as he rolled his shoulder, his right arm still slightly numb from the ringer it had just been put through.  _Only gonna get one shot at this…and if I'm wrong then she'll skewer me…but I'm gonna bet that not even that moustache bastard cant even touch our bonds with whatever magic he used. That Fairy Tail's stronger than whatever weird destiny he thinks Luce's gonna have._ "But we're runnin' out of time. So, I'm gonna finish this fight now." He declared confidently, a smirk on his lips as his flames roared to life.

"…I will eliminate you. That is my mission, my reason for existing. I will kill you mage!" Luce shouted out as the lighting elemental vanished, an orb of water appearing in its place. " **Water strike, pressure arrow.** " The blonde assassin commanded as a water arrow appeared knocked in her bow and judging by how much magical energy he could feel gathering at its tip, Natsu knew that if that thing hit him it would go all the way though, that a hit to any vital would be the end of him.

But he didn't let his confident smirk falter for even a second. He knew he was right, that his plan would work, that he could get his partner,  _My Luce,_ back. So, with yet another battle cry, Natsu launched himself forward and crossed his arms over his head, his head that was lowered to the point that looked like he looked like he was going to ram into her. " **Fire Dragon's sword horn!** " Natsu shouted as the flames coiled around his form.

"A suicide charge? Pointless, you have only made yourself a better target." Lucy said, sounding almost disappointed in a weird dry tone, like she was trying hard to remain detached from the situation. "…die." And with that, Natsu's partner released her spell, the water arrow screeching though the air like some kind of demented bird.

But Natsu didn't try to dodge, didn't try to maneuver in any sort of way, he simply continued forward with his flames burning brightly. Time seemed to slow slightly as the arrow approached, but yet Natsu had absolute confidence in his plan…in his partner. And so, with nothing more he could do, he simply closed his eyes and waited. The water arrow screamed in his ears as it approached, and the next thing he knew the left side of his neck was incredibly numb, like Gray had punched him there. He knew that the arrow had cut him, pretty deeply based off the fact that he didn't feel anything from the wound and was probably staining his scarf something awful right now. But his grin only grew as the arrow passed by and drilled though the wood behind them.

He could see Lucy's eyes widen ever so slightly at his survival, almost like she was shocked by it, and saw her tense in an attempt to leap away. But Natsu wasn't about to let her out of his sight just yet. And after releasing his flames and slamming his feet down in order to halt his momentum, Natsu threw his arms around his blonde teammate and pulled her close.

It wasn't exactly the best hug he had ever given, not with her weird bow stuck in between them and the blondes own desperate attempt to escape his hold, but just like last time Natsu only increased the strength of his hold.

"Heh, jeez Luce, if you wanted a hug you could've just asked." The fire dragon slayer chuckling as his partner froze like a deer in the headlights.

"how did…I couldn't have missed." She muttered in confusion, Natsu smiling down at her all the while.

"Nah, you're too good to miss…unless you wanted to." Natsu revealed as Lucy tensed even more in his arms. "I noticed that, as we fought, you stopped putting as much into your attacks with each new one…and if you really wanted to kill me you would've."

"…I don't know you…I don't know who this Lucy person you keep referring to me as is…and I know that my orders are absolute…but it hurts." Lucy muttered as she looked down, Natsu tilting his head in confusion. "It hurts my chest every time I attack you, every time I hurt you…why?"

"Because you're my friend, my partner, duh." Natsu answered easily. "No one likes attacking their friends...Unless its Gray, then I like attacking him but that's just me."

"…I don't understand." Lucy continued, finally relaxing somewhat in his hold. "Everything in my head tells me to attack, to kill you…but my chest feels heavy…why?"

That's your heart hurtin' you weirdo. You're a part of Fairy Tail, of our guild, our family. No asshole can take that away. You belong with-."  _Me_ "-us." Natsu continued as he slowly, as to not alarm her, reached down and held up her right hand, her pink emblem still present upon her skin. "You're Lucy of Fairy Tail, elemental mage and my weirdo partner. And nothing can change that."

Lucy hung her head, her bangs covering her eyes and most of her face, before falling silent. Natsu stepped back as he studied her. if this wasn't enough to stop her…if Lucy still was going to fight…he didn't know what he'd do.

"…You claim to know me…that I know you…and while logically I know that you are a stranger…my heart can't accept this." Lucy declared as she looked back up, a look of anxiousness and fear on her features. "I will no longer attack you Natsu Dragneel…but I…I cannot bring myself to harm the man who created me, my Master."

Natsu went through the full spectrum of emotions, beginning with happiness to concern before finally finishing on bloodlust. "Alright then, you just stick by me and I'll finish this fight. Then we can all go home to Fairy Tail!" he shouted as he grabbed Lucy's hand and started to pull her in the direction they had come from.

For a few seconds they didn't say anything, Natsu too focused on finishing the fight, but eventually the fire dragon slayer looked back at his nervous looking partner. "So uh, Luce…what do you remember?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Ya know, you said you don't know me, but what do you remember? Anything about Fairy Tail? Or the rest of our friends?"

"…I have memories of my training in the institute…of the other children who trained there with me. And I remember all the missions I have been sent on…that's it." Lucy said after thinking it over, Natsu skidding to a stop to stare at her like she had grown a second head.

"Wait a sec! Nothing about your mom?"

"…My mother?"

"Ya! You know…umm, what was her name?" Natsu continued before staring up at the ceiling in thought. "…oh right, Tiamat!" the pink haired slayer shouted as his gaze returned to his partner, only to see confusion on her features. "…seriously? Nothing? You don't remember the dragon who raised you?"

One of Lucy's eyebrows rose at that, her gaze becoming incredulous. "Dragons haven't been seen on Earthland in over four hundred years. Do not insult my intelligence please."

The two stared at each other for a moment, Natsu in horrified shock and Lucy in confusion, but it didn't take long for Natsu's disbelief to transform into white hot fury, the air around him shimmering as the temperature rose. "Th-that bastard! To take even that!" Natsu simmered as he once again grabbed Lucy by her wrist and started to run though the hallways once again. "Tell me where he is Luce and I'll finish this!"

"…mmm, Master Heartfilia should be either in the control center, or near his personal quarters."

"Alright then! He's mine!" Natsu shouted out as he turned a corner only to skid to a halt when a bullet whizzed by his face.

"Oh? Do now? What a curious thing to say considering how much of a fool you are." Jude commented before turning his gaze on Lucy, said blonde tensing under his gaze. "I must say Subject One, I am very disappointed in you. This is the first time you've failed to kill your target. I had been concerned over your lack of progress in dealing with the intruders and here I find you escorting the one I ordered you to kill…how disappointing."

"I-I am sorry Master. I just…I couldn't…" Lucy stuttered as she lowered her head.

"I see…it appears that I underestimated the emotional attachments you've formed…perhaps something in your instincts? Regardless, you will need more adjustments as soon as these distractions are dealt with."

"So, your just gonna ignore me? You piss me off even more than the Stripper does." Natsu growled as he ignited his fists. "Luce's made her choice, and she chose Fairy Tail!"

"…Did you not learn anything from our previous conversation? Her will does not matter. Her destiny is far too important to take in to account her own will." The blonde bastard said with a sigh as he pointed his pistol at the pink haired slayer, the magical weapon glowing with a crimson glow. "Simply die and allow us to move forward into the future."

And with that Jude opened fire on the two mages. Rather than shooting actual bullets, Jude's gun released crimson bolts that exploded on impact, and they hurt. Natsu had tried to close the gap, intending to slam his fist into the blonde's face, but every time he got close enough the man would fire a shockwave from his stupid gun, sending Natsu skidding backwards.

 _Augh, this sucks! And Wendy's spell is going to wear off soon! Gotta try and finish this with one blow!_ " **Fire Dragon's roar!** " Natsu yelled as he released his flames, the massive fireball racing down the hallway.  _Ha! He doesn't have anywhere to go! I got him!_

But much to his surprise he didn't get him. As once again his flames passed around the man without even burning him a little. "Pointless, my Absolute Resistance Magic prevents damage of any single source I choose. With your attacks being so predictable it is simple to alter my resistance before your attack lands." Jude explained with a look of contempt on his face. "Now fall!  **Boltor!** " He shouted as his magical pistol unleashed a barrage of crimson bullets, Natsu grunting in pain as they hit him and sent him skidding backwards though their shear force.

"Damn it, what kind of unfair magic is that?" Natsu couldn't help but complain as he slammed his foot down, shattering the wood upwards to help absorb some of the bullets. If the bastard could make himself immune to any single type of damage then Natsu's fire was completely out the window. Sure, he could just beat him down but with the stupid shockwave thingy he had he couldn't get close what with the hallway being so thin! Plus, he was starting to feel sick to his stomach, meaning that Wendy's spell was gonna wear off pretty soon. "How the heck am I supposed win?"

"…With more fire." Lucy muttered eventually, her face a mixture of agony and determination. "I can…I can summon more fire for you."

"eh? But Luce, aren't you afraid of your fire? I can find a way to win myself, don't worry about it." Natsu refuted instantly, not wanting to cause anymore mental damage to the already broken blonde.

"Yes, I can tell that I have an instinctual fear of fire…But-" Lucy continued before looking up at Natsu with a look in her eyes that caused Natsu's breath to hitch. "-deep in my heart, I know your fire won't hurt me."

Natsu sat there for a moment, completely taken back by the trust his partner had in him even without her memories, before grinning widely and savagely. "Alright then Luce! Let's do this!"

"…yes!" The blonde shouted back before closing her eyes and clasping her hands almost as if in prayer. "…Ifrit!" she shouted out, a name that Natsu vaguely remembered hearing before.

But of course Natsu recognized the name when the giant fire dude Lucy had summoned back during the Phantom war showed up in the corridor. The giant fire guy burring away the floor above them so that he could fit in the ship.

"The lord of fire…the one who destroyed the Institute. To think your emotional attachments would turn you against me to such a degree. I will have to be thorough in the destruction of your previous memories Subject One."

"You aren't gonna touch her ya Bastard!" Natsu shouted out as he stepped between the two blondes, Lucy having flinched backwards almost as if she was struck. "You're goin' down!"

"Oh? Such confidence, how do you intend to do that why you cannot even breach my absolute resistance?" Jude questioned condescendingly as he pointed his pistol at Natsu's forehead.

"Like this!" Natsu shouted back as he leaned back and began to suck down all the flames that the giant had created and no matter how much he seemed to absorb there was always more to consume. The fire in his belly grew hotter than it ever had before, even hotter than when he had eaten that fire that Jellal had given him. He could feel the skin around his eyes and on his hands harden into scales with a reddish hue while flames of the same color covered him like armor. He felt powerful, like he could take on Erza and Laxus at the same time without breakin' a sweat. And based off of the horror on the bastard's face, he probably looked just as intimidating as he felt.

"I-It can't be…these flames…Amon." Jude muttered, almost like he was talking to himself, but Natsu wasn't about to stop now.

" **Fire Dragon Lord's Apocalyptic Flame!** " Natsu shouted out as he released the fire in his chest, sending the mixture of his dragon fire and Ifrit's own flames barreling down the corridor.

Jude attempted to shield himself from the flames, his resistance magic activating in the form of a barrier in front of him, but as the pounded into his magic he would see cracks beginning to form. "I see, I failed to account for the seventy-two…such a fool…no king…stands alone." Jude whispered to no one in particular as the flames finally shattered his defenses and blew past him, awashing both the man and the ship behind him in flames hotter than any that could exist.

Natsu fell to his knees more exhausted than he had ever been in his life. It felt like all the fire in his body had been drained from him at one time. Even his secret arts didn't leave him this drained! But based off of the fact that the Jude bastard was on the ground and only occasionally twitching they had won.

Which was good, 'cause Natsu's stomach was twisting so much that he couldn't stand now even if he wanted to.

"ugh…my stomach…the ships…moving." Natsu managed to force out, his voice high pitched and squeaking.

"…I don't understand why…but I feel like I understand your pain…how strange." Lucy commented blandly as she bowed to the fire elemental lord, said spirit nodding and vanishing in a burst of flames. "you defeated Master…but all I feel is relief."

Natsu tried to smile past his nausea, intending to reassure her that she had made the right choice, but before he could he felt the ship lurch violently under him, the fire dragon slayer feeling like he was suddenly falling. The ship groaning and buckling all the while.

"Wha-what's happening?" The fire dragon slayer cried out in surprise as something exploded in the distance.

"I don't know, but based of our downward acceleration the ship appears to be out of control and falling from the sky…perhaps the fire has damaged some key component?" Lucy commented in a curious voice as another explosion echoed though the ship, this one much closer.

"Uh…maybe we should get out of here then? Can you carry me Luce? I don't feel so good."

* * *

Natsu watched in satisfaction at the burning ship in the distance from the rock he was sitting on. Lucy had managed to get them out of there before the ship hit the ground, using one of her wind elementals to slow them down before the now completely burning ship crashed down. Natsu briefly wondered if the others were ok or not. But considering that they had managed to make it out of Nirvana when it had exploded he wasn't particularly concerned…at least in regards to them being alright.

"Ohhh no…Erza's gonna kill me if she figures out I burned down the ship. She might even make me do…that." Natsu shuddered trying not to get lost in the horrific memories that 'that' invoked.

"…I don't understand why, but I felt a chill when you finished speaking." Lucy commented from the grass on his right. The blonde mage looked just as exhausted as he felt, Natsu assuming that having opened nearly every elemental gate plus summoning a Lord really taking their toll on her.

"Right, ok…heya Luce? Did you remember anything after I beat that bastard?" Natsu couldn't help but ask, Lucy frowning and shaking her head in response.

"Nothing of note…I'm sorry."

"Nah, don't worry about it!" Natsu instantly shot back, a massive grin on his face. "I'm sure the Gramps will figure somethin' out. And no matter how long it takes, Fairy Tail will be there for you!"

"I see…thank you, Natsu." Lucy replied as she sat up and smiled at the pink haired slayer.

Natsu couldn't help but blink owlishly at his partner, his mind having frozen up at the look she was giving him. She looked…good. No, more than good, like a big bonfire made out of the most delicious fire ever. Natsu felt some kinda heat, not the fire kind but similar, ignite in his chest the longer he looked at her. he wanted her for himself, to keep her close and never let-.

 _Whoa, wait a sec. where the heck is this commin' from?_ Natsu couldn't help but consider in a panic, his confusion dousing the flames in his chest somewhat.  _I mean sure, its Luce, the coolest, strongest, and kindest chick I know. And I wanna keep her safe and close and hug her and kis-…oh_.

And Natsu finally realized it, the thing that everyone had been talking to him about all cryptically recently. Why Mira kept making all those weird comments to him about the blonde slayer just like she did to Bisca and Alzack. What Gray had been talking about before this whole mess started. What Gajeel had been talking about back in town.

He was in love with Lucy and he hadn't even realized it. He wanted to make her his mate.

 _Well…shit._ Natsu thought dumbly as he stared at the back of his blonde partners head, said partner having returned her attention to the burning vessel. He remembered his old man talking a bit about dragon slayers falling in love, how they got really possessive of the person and it was really hard for slayers to fight against that instinct. But if Luce was feeling anything for him it wasn't the same kind of love Natsu apparently had.

… _And even if it is, would she even know what to do? Luce's dumber than I am when it comes to stuff like this._ Natsu couldn't help but lament, a sad smile forming on his lips for a second when he considered how clueless his partner really was.  _Augh…this sucks! Kinda wish I hadn't realized it now…I'm gonna have to hide this from her. Can't be springing it on her when she can't even remember anything…just gonna have to endure it. I'm sure I can get over it eventually…right?_

But Natsu's thoughts were interrupted when he picked up on Happy's voice in the distance, both Fairy Tail mages looking up at the sound.

"Natsu! Lucy! You're ok!" The blue Exceed cried out, tears falling from his eyes, as he flew in their direction. The rest of the slayers, Exceeds, and even Juvia and Gray right behind him. Gajeel carrying the crazy chick they had been fighting against.

"Is that… a flying cat? And did it just talk?" Lucy questioned from his side as they both stood.

"Yep! That's Happy! One of the strongest mages in our guild!" Natsu replied, unable to help himself from pulling a prank on the now nervous and confused blonde. Sure, he might have realized he was in love with his partner. But he wasn't gonna let that get in the way of their adventures. He wasn't gonna fail her again.

"…is that…Tiria?" Lucy muttered, more to herself based off of how distant her gaze was, Natsu scowling slightly at the thought of the annoying water slayer.

_Great, now we gotta deal with that green haired brat being a jerk to Lucy too. Oh this is just gonna be gre-._

"Lucy! I missed you so much!" Tiria shouted out, looking ecstatic, as she leapt into Lucy's arms startling the blonde and everyone else present.

 _…Eh? Who's this?_ Natsu couldn't help but think as he regarded the green haired slayer, almost considering that she might be someone else using a transformation magic. He quickly looked at everyone else present, trying to figure out if this was just some sorta trap or something. But based off of the utterly confused looks on everyone else's mugs Natsu wasn't the only one confused.

"Tiria? I thought you were…I thought you had died." Lucy said in a dazed sorta way, almost like she couldn't believe what she was seeing either.

"Eh heh, nope! I'm alive and well! And just so happy to see you!" the Tiria look-alike replied in a chipper tone before pulling Lucy into another hug, Lucy responding to said hug only a second later.

Natsu stepped forward, intending to figure out just what the heck was happening, but before he could utter a single word he notice the little slayer smirking at him over the blonde's shoulder. While not talking, Natsu saw the girl's lips move slowly though a series of words, his enhanced senses allowing him to read her lips.

_"She's never going to believe you if you try to sell me out."_

…Natsu really, really didn't like her.


	28. Chapter 28

Lucy couldn't help but sigh heavily as she watched yet another team run into the guild, grab a request off the board, ran up to the counter to wave the request in Mira's face, before running back out a second later before the doors could even shut from their entrance. It had been nearly three weeks since the incident with Jude Heartfilia was finished and things had been going back to normal…or at least Lucy assumed this was normal, as she still wasn't certain.

The Magic Council had swooped in only minutes after the massive airship crashed down, arresting everyone present, including Natsu Dragneel when he attempted to flee. It had taken awhile for them to get all the information they wanted from the Fairy Tail mages, as no one had a complete picture of what had happened. But by the time they had all their facts in order three council members had shown up at the makeshift holding area they had created for them.

From what Lucy learned the Council had thought that her fath-…that Jude Heartfilia had been thought dead by the magic council. To learn that he was not only still alive but had attempted to revive his institute…to say that they were surprised was an understatement. Surprised with a small side of grateful for Fairy Tail's aid. Council-woman Belno vowed to the blonde mage that they would continue to uphold their deal…a deal that Lucy had no memory of.

The blonde couldn't help but sigh heavily again, drawing the attention of the worried barmaid behind the counter.

"Oh my Lucy, that was quite the sigh there. Is everything alright?" The silver haired woman asked with what Lucy could only assume was genuine concern, at least she assumed it was as she didn't have enough experience with the emotion to tell the difference.

But she still understood that common sense dictated that one shouldn't worry their friends, so the blonde made sure to smile as she looked up at the barmaid. "I'm fine Ms. Strauss." Lucy began, flinching slightly when the woman's face fell at the mention of her name for reasons the blonde couldn't understand. "I was just…trying to remember."

Indeed, while the incident had indeed ended, the damage had already been done. Lucy's memories of her time in the guild known as Fairy Tail were missing, leaving nothing but a large blank in the place they had been. Her body, or more specifically the Weave woven into her very being, knew there was something wrong with her and had been attempting to undo the damage but the regeneration was slow going. She had only managed to retrieve a few scattered memories from right after she had destroyed the institute, nothing compared to what she had lost.

The Magic Council had offered aid in the retrieval of their memories, as according to them they did have a member of the Rune Knights who specialized in memory manipulation. In fact, it was this mage who would be working on Priscilla and Vincent in order to undo the damage on their minds…though they admitted that so much damage could take years to undo and that neither mage would be allowed to leave the Council's custody until they could deem them stable enough to be released. Lucy had intended to take them up on their offer, to go with the Council for however long it would take to undo what Jude had done to her. But the mages of Fairy Tail had immediately moved between her and the Council claiming that they would never leave her in the hands of the Council. A statement that made Lucy's chest clench in an unknown emotion. The young mage known as Wendy Marvel claimed that she would be more than capable of restoring her friend's memories, and the boys by the name of Gray Fullbuster and Natsu Dragneel had simply outright refused to allow her to leave with them, their declarations transforming the tightness in her chest into a warmth that was just as confusing.

And so, after a tearful farewell with her fellow institute survivors, Lucy returned to the Fairy Tail guild. She had been essentially under house arrest since arriving, having been under the constant ministration of both Wendy Marvel and the guilds apparent apothecary, a woman by the name of Porlyusica who absolutely terrified her to her core.

And so, with nothing left to do but wait for either the two healers to figure out how to restore her or for her own body to shake off the alterations, hence why she was currently relaxing in the guilds bar.

Ms. Strauss nodded glumly at Lucy's explanation, pausing in her cleaning to smile sadly at the blonde. "Oh, I see…have you managed to remember anything?" the older girl asked, her voice filled with both hope and resignation.

And while she couldn't understand why, Lucy couldn't help but feel bad that she had to disappoint the kind barmaid. "I do properly recall a few things from after leaving the institute…but nothing from my days in Fairy Tail yet…I'm sorry." Lucy admitted, adding on an apology at the crestfallen look on the older girls face when she admitted to her lack of knowledge.

"You don't have to apologize Lucy, it's not your fault…it's just…" Mirajane started to explain before shaking her head slowly and smiling at Lucy. "And I thought that I told you, just Mira is fine. We're not that formal here."

"Understood…by the way, do you know why everyone is so active today?" Lucy couldn't help but ask as yet another team of mages waved a job request in Ms. Strau- Mira's direction and ran out the doors, practically leaving a tailwind in their wake.

"Oh, its nothing. Don't worry about it. We're only a few days away from the Master's announcements so you can just relax."

"I see…" Lucy muttered quietly, not quite comfortable with leaving the conversation unfinished but also feeling some form of instinct, a deep-seated knowledge, that it was best to not go against the word of Fairy Tail's barmaid.

But before the blonde could think too much on the strange feeling in her gut, a pink haired teen rushed up to the bar with two papers in his hand, a pink haired mage that caused the strange warmth to return to her chest.

"Heya Mira! We finished this job and are going on this one!" Natsu Dragneel shouted as he slammed one request down and waved the other back and forth, the silver haired barmaid only taking a quick glance at both before smiling and nodding.

"Of course Natsu, have fun!"

"Yosh!...Oh, heya Luce, you feelin' any better yet?" The pink haired boy questioned, apparently just noticing the blonde's presence, his cheery face giving way to a look of what Lucy could only assume was concern.

"No real changes…though I do feel a strange heat at the moment." The blonde explained, having long ago been told that when Mr. Dragneel called out for someone named "Luce" he was in fact referring to her.

"Eh? That's not good Lucy! You can't get sick right now! Not with all the fun that's coming!" The small blue cat, a creature called an Exceed, named Happy called out as he flew over and tried to feel the blonde's forehead, apparently concerned that she might be running a fever.

But before he could get within a foot of the elemental mage's forehead a dull thump echoed though the guild, a new hole being created in the bar in between the two Fairy Tail mages.

"E-ehhh! S-someone tried to shoot me!" The blue cat cried out as he jumped backwards in shock.

"Ah, sorry, I forgot to mention it to you. Artemis isn't allowing anyone to touch me unless I tell them they can first." Lucy apologized as the two mages stared down at the still smoldering hole in the bar.

"The metal lady? Then, where is she?" the pink haired mage asked as he cautiously looked over his shoulders. "I-…Is she a ninja or somethin'?"

"…Possibly? I haven't had the time to determine if that's in her programing." Lucy admitted before turning and pointing up into the rafters. "But she's been up there for the last few days."

Natsu and Happy turned around slowly to look up at the area where the blonde mage was pointing, both taking a few seconds to see a black-haired woman hiding in the rafters. Her lacrima rifle pointed in their direction, its laser sight trained on the pink Natsu's forehead. Lucy had been told that the crimson eyed Machias was someone who had sworn their loyalty to her during her time in Fairy Tail, and after recovering from her injuries due to Lucy brining the Lightning elemental gem back, she vowed to never allow anything to happen to her master again.

"Oh…that's cool I guess…well anyway, we're headed out Mira! Bye Luce!" The fire dragon slayer shouted as he grabbed the still traumatized cat and fled out the massive double doors of the guild.

"Honesty, that boy. He could have at least spent some more time making sure you were ok before running off." Mira complained out loud with a sigh as she returned her attention to the blonde mage. "And Lucy dear, I understand why she would be so defensive, but if Artemis keeps shooting holes in my bar I will have words for both of you." The silver haired woman all but threatened, her perpetual smile not faltering for a second.

"Y-yes ma'am…understood." Lucy stuttered out before quickly turning around and motioning for her mechanical servant to join her. Artemis lowering her rifle, jumping down to the ground, and rushing over to her master's side.

"Contrite question; yes Master? Have I displeased you in some way? Or…has someone attempted to harm you?!" Artemis greeted quietly before beginning to shout, her crimson eyes quickly scanning though the sparse crowd of mages still within the guild. "Furious declaration; because if that is so, then I wont rest until they suffer for their-."

"No, no one has caused any problems…but I needed to tell you not to do anymore damage to the bar or we will be in trouble." Lucy explained quickly as Mira nodded sagely behind her.

"…Orders confirmed. Altering combat protocols to minimize collateral…switching to proximity defense…activating low threat mode" Artemis murmured out loud, talking mostly to herself as a cloud of steam emanated from her body for a brief moment before revealing her Exceed form. The false cat hopping up onto the counter and sitting down by Lucy's side.

"Aww, you look so cute Artemis!" Mira cooed as she handed a tray of drinks to a purple haired girl.

"Bashful statement; T-thank you ma'am. I have determined that this form, with its non-threatening appearance, is best suited for covert assignments. In addition, it allows me to save power for emergency situations." Artemis explained as she sat down next to Lucy's drink, her gaze focused on Ms. Knightwalker and Pantherlily who were currently engaged in a sword fight, their blades flashing though the air so fast that they were mostly blurs.

Lucy passed the day mostly in silence, only having a few, short conversations with those who approached her, before deciding to retire to her rented apartment in the guilds female dorm.  _I wonder what was going on with the other guild members today?_ The blonde couldn't help but think as she made her way up the hill the dorm stood on, Artemis trotting alongside her as she was far too heavy to carry.  _Nearly everyone in the guild was rushing to work, but others were simply relaxing. Mira said that I shouldn't worry about it, that I'd find out eventually, but did she say that because its really not that big of a deal? Or because…because it was something I should already know?_

While she tried not to let it show on her face, Lucy as in fact quite worried about her lack of memories. Every time she used their last name only for them to flinch slightly, every time Wendy asked for stories about her dragon mother and she could only recall vague details…every time Natsu Dragneel looked at her like she was some kind of glass sculpture, she couldn't help but feel like she had failed these friends of her somehow.

"…Concerned question; Master, I have detected a ten percent increase in your heart rate over the last three minutes. Is something bothering you?" Artemis asked as she began to survey the night around them. "Observation; I do not detect any noteworthy lifeforms within our immediate vicinity, magical or otherwise. Have you noticed something Master?"

"No, nothing like that…just thinking." Lucy replied as she opened the door to her room, only to pause in the entrance in surprise. While it had been explained to her that many members of the guild used her room, all of those she had been warned about were currently out of town or people she had seen back at the guild only moments ago…so why was someone using her shower?

Artemis was on alert instantly, returning to her adult form and drawing her lacrima pistol while Lucy drew Lemegeton from her side and readied an arrow. Her mind cleared instantly, all thoughts of her missing memories gone from her mind as she quickly went though a list of possible intruders that would be using her washroom. A survivor of the pirates who had been under Jude Heartfilia's command? A member of the Magic Council trying to get rid of her? Or maybe they were simply an enemy of the guild who considered her a weak link due to her missing memories? Regardless, the blonde mage wouldn't show any mercy to someone who attacked her in her home.

But, almost as if the universe was mocking her, the person who emerged from her bathroom dressed in nothing but a towel was not some nefarious ne'er-do-well as she thought, but rather a brown-haired woman that had been a member of the guild for a long time and was nearly always sitting with a barrel of beer next to her.

"…Cana Alberona?" Lucy tried to confirm, the card mage blinking owlishly at the two armed women currently pointing weapons in her direction.

"Oh, heya Lucy. Sorry about coming over without asking. But you've got one of the best showers in this joint so I thought I'd help myself." Cana explained as she grabbed her clothes off the couch and went back into the bathroom. Neither Lucy nor Artemis moving an inch as she closed the door behind her.

"…Obvious observation; Master, I believe it would be in your best interest to change the locks on your doors and windows. It is hard to ensure a secure environment if everyone has access to your home."

"Unn…I guess. But I somehow feel like it wont really stop anyone." Lucy admitted as she cut off the magic to her weapon, the light in the shape of a bow returning to the handle.

It wasn't long until Cana came back out of the restroom fully dressed, the older girl looking around the room with a distant, distracted gaze. "So Lucy, you mind if I drink some of the booze I stashed here awhile ago? I could use a drink right about now."

"No, I don't mind." Lucy replied as she walked into the kitchen to make herself a light dinner, making a mental note to search her home for any other unknown contraband that had somehow made it inside.

A silence descended on the small apartment as Cana enjoyed her liquor, Artemis having decided to go into standby in the corner of the room while Lucy quietly ate her meal. In truth, she wasn't exactly sure how to interact with the older woman. She knew that Cana was someone who cared about Fairy Tail, that she had been in the guild for the longest time out of anyone in their generation, and that she used card magic…but beyond that she wasn't sure who to act around the slightly older girl. Though whether or not that was due to her missing memories or not she couldn't be certain.

"Hey Lucy…the guy who kidnapped you…he was your dad right?" Cana eventually asked, still sounding like her thoughts were else ware.

The question took Lucy by surprise, as almost no one had asked questions about when she was imprisoned, but she quickly recovered her composure. "Well…not exactly. He liked to have us call him our Father…and I guess, in some twisted way, he cared for us, but I wasn't related to him if that's what you're asking."

"Well I guess that's for the best then, having a dad like that would be awful…but…" The brown-haired card mage muttered before trailing off, leaving Lucy feeling like she had missed something important. "Ah, never mind. Its not that important."

Another silence came over the room, one that even Lucy was able to feel was awkward and filled with some emotion she didn't quite understand. So rather than face the unbearable quiet, the blonde mage chose to forge ahead with the conversation. "Um…what about your father?" She asked tentatively, trying to continue their talk in the most logical direction.

Unfortunately, this appeared to be the wrong decision, as Cana's expression pinched like she had tasted something sour. The card mage making a clicking noise with her tongue, crossing her arms, and looking away. "Tch…my old man doesn't even know I exist. Ran off on my mom before I was even born. He cant be a bad dad if he's never been there for me." Cana ranted in growing rage before some thought crossed her mind and her once anger filled face gave way to an almost depression. "Maybe I should take a page out of his book…"

"Eh?" Lucy couldn't help but mutter in confusion as Cana finished her bottle of unmarked alcohol, stood up, and made her way to the door. The brown-haired woman only stopping when she had her hand on the doorknob.

"…I'm thinking of leaving the guild." Cana announced solemnly as she walked out the door, leaving a shell-shocked blonde behind.

"…Observation; Master, I believe there may be something bothering Ms. Alberona." Artemis eventually commented, her words restarting the neurons in Lucy's brain.

 _She wants to leave? I thought that members of Fairy Tail considered the guild their family, that the bonds between them were far more than simply co-workers. She would just abandon them that easily? Even for me, without memories, the thought of leaving them after all the concern they've shown me is one I don't want to entertain…so why?_ The blonde thought, trying hard to work out just what had happened. But no matter how hard she thought about it, she could find no answer. Her thoughts running in circles for the rest of the night.

* * *

As soon as the first rays of the sun began illuminating the world Lucy made her way out of Fairy Hills and started to make her way to the guild. No matter how hard she thought about it she had been unable to determine just why Cana had revealed her intentions to her. the blonde having thought about it up until sleep forcibly claimed her. so, rather than continue to run in circles trying to figure out what had happened, she instead decided to seek out Mira or someone else in the guild who understood social cues better than her.

And it was halfway to the guild that Lucy was ambushed, a pair of tiny arms wrapping around her neck as someone pressed against her back.

"Good morning Lucy! Are you having a nice morning?" Tiria giggled, both girls ignoring Artemis having pointed her pistol at the younger slayer.

Lucy couldn't help but smile as she turned to regard her junior, one of the few good things that had come out of the last month. Tiria Irving was a fellow dragon slayer who had been taken by the institute short before Lucy had been forced to take Tiamat's heart, another child for her to keep safe within those walls. Tiria hadn't been that open with Lucy or the other kids at first, always regarding the other kids with suspicion and Lucy herself with guilt. As she was the one held hostage to force Lucy's hand that faithful day.

But over time Tiria had opened up to the older slayer, though Lucy to this day couldn't think of what exactly made the green haired girl change her mind. Not that she minded, as the others were one of the few things that kept her humanity intact during those dark days.

Which is why she had been particularly devastated after she destroyed the Institute using Ifrit's flames. To lose not only all her juniors, but a younger slayer who had looked up to her? that had been a particularly devastating blow. Even after seeing Priscilla and Vincent the blonde still assumed that Tiria had been unlucky enough to not escape that day.

And for once, Lucy was overwhelmingly glad that she was proven wrong. Seeing Tiria running up to her that night nearly brought her to tears she had been so happy. And not only had she been released from the guilt of having killed the younger slayer, but due to the fact that her memories had not been tampered with Tiria remained free from the Magic Council's clutches. And she had even chosen to join Fairy Tail! What could be better?

"Good morning Tiria. I was just on my way to the guild to ask Mira something. Would you like to join me?"

"Of course! I would love to!" The younger slayer answered after only a second of hesitation.

"Observation; individual known as Tiria is currently experiencing elevated levels of stress of unknown origin. Is there anything that I should be aware of? Perhaps a threat to my Master's safety?" Artemis stated as she returned her attention to their surroundings, Tiria swatting the false Exceed on her head before giggling some more.

"Oh, you silly machine you! Common Lucy! Let's go!" The water dragon slayer leading the way until they found themselves before the guild.

Lucy quietly opened the massive doors, not wanting to disturb the buildings early patrons, but rather than seeing the nearly empty guild that she had grown used to, the guild was instead absolutely filled to the brim with people. Seemingly every mage in the guilds employ currently present.

"What's going on?" Tiria and Lucy both questioned as they stepped further into the main hall, the hum of excited voices in the air causing both former assassins to tense slightly, their instincts telling them both to avoid such situations.

"Luce! Heya!" the blonde mage heard someone call out from the depths of the crowd, Natsu emerging from the sea of bodies after a moment with Happy on his shoulder. Once again, for reasons she couldn't identify, Lucy felt her chest constrict, her cheeks heated, and her breathing hitched, at the sight of the pink haired slayer approaching.  _What's happening to me? No one else caused such reactions since I came back…so what makes him so different?_

"Geh…oh, its you." Natsu continued as his gaze landed on Tiria. His face scrunching up like he had tasted something sour.

"Oh, Hello Natsu! It's so nice to see you again. Not talking about me to Lucy behind my back, right?" Tiria greeted with a chuckle. Natsu not responding with words but choosing to mutter under his breath, his words so quiet that Lucy couldn't pick up on what exactly he said.

"Natsu, Happy." Lucy greeted with a smile of her own, drawing the attention of the fire dragon slayer back onto herself. "Have you seen Mira today? There was something I wanted to ask her."

Natsu crossed his arms before grinning brightly, the constriction in Lucy's chest growing worse at the sight. "Nah, but she's around here somewhere. Probably backstage somewhere with the Old Man."

"Speaking of, is something going on? Everyone looks like they're waiting for something." Lucy continued as she gazed around, all eyes in the guild focused on the curtain that obscured the stage.

"Aye! The Master has an announcement to make so he asked everyone to wait! Ohhh, Its finally time Natsu! It's gonna be you this year, I'm sure of it!"

"Heh, course it will be buddy! We got this in the bag."

"…what bag?" Lucy couldn't help but question as she stared at their hands, seeing no sign of any parcel anywhere on them."

But instead of answering Natsu simply laughed loudly, drawing the attention of a few of the surrounding mages. "Same old Luce. We're not talkin' about an actual bag, Happy was talking about the S- class-." But whatever the fire dragon was going to say was lost when the crowd cheered, drawing the attention of all five mages to the front of the guild.

Standing in the center of the stage was the master of the Fairy Tail guild, Makarov, flanked by all the elite mages of the Fairy Tail guild. The Master was wearing his formal cloak, one that displayed the symbol of the wizard saints proudly, and had a very serious look on his face, a look that was quite rare for him acco9rding to what Lucy had heard from others in the guild.

"Fairy Tail! In accordance with the traditions laid down by our first master, I will now announce the participants in this year's S-class wizard advancement exam!" The Master announced, the cheer from the crowd nearly enough to shake the building to its foundations.

"An advancement exam?" Lucy parroted as Natsu caught on fire, the blonde jumping back slightly in surprise.

"Oh yeah! I'm fired up now!" The fire dragon slayer shouted as Happy nodded sagely by his side.

"Aye! It's like a festival Fairy Tail has every year! And if you do well enough the Master will make you an S-class mage! They're the strongest, and the coolest mages in the guild!" Happy explained just before Erza Scarlet slammed her sword down upon the stage, a glare pointed at no one in particular.

"Silence! The Master is speaking!" The red-haired warrior commanded, the cheers and conversations dying out in a second.

The Master's gaze traveled across the guild, seemingly regarding each mage below in turn, before speaking again. "…this year, I have decided that the exam will take place upon Tenrou Island, our guilds holy grounds. Over the past year, I have watched as each of your magic's, your heart's, and your soul's have grown and changed. And have judged that eight of you are worthy of being tested for our guilds greatest honor. And I will now announce them!"

"Natsu Dragneel!" The Master called out first and foremost, Natsu raising his first into the air in triumph.

"Hell ya! S-class here I come!"

"Good for you Natsu!" Happy congratulated while at the same time someone nearby clicked their tongue, Lucy looking for the source of the apparent displeasure but finding none.

But the Master wasn't done yet, as seven mages still had to be named. "Gray Fullbuster, Juvia Lockser, Elfman Strauss, Cana Alberona, Freid Justine, Levy Mcgarden."

 _Hmm, I get it. Everyone was putting as much effort into the last few days as they could in order to try and sway the Master's decision…but didn't he say that he was watching over the previous year? Would last minute effort really make that much of a difference?_ Lucy thought for a second before shrugging.  _Regardless, it'll be interesting to see what exactly this test entails for when I take it myself._

But Lucy's expectations of simply observing the test were shattered with the Master's next words "Lucy of Fairy Tail!" He announced, much to the blonde's shock.

"…Eh?" Was all she managed to force out as Tiria hugged her from the side.

"Yay Lucy! Your going to do great! I'm sure of it!"

"Agreement; this unit agrees with Ms. Tiria. Master will surely overcome this trial."

"A-ah…yes." Lucy finally managed to force out, smiling as she did so.

It was at this point that Mira stepped forward, her ever present smile still upon her face. "Each of the selected participants must select a partner for this exam. A partner who is both a member of our guild as well as someone not already and S-class wizard."

"The contents of the exam will be announced once we arrive on Tenrou Island so as to prevent any team from gaining an advantage. But be warned, those who seek to rise to the rank of S-class must be willing to fight against us for that glory." Erza continued, more than a few members of the crowd flinching back at the prospect of fighting against the guilds strongest woman.

"And I'll be there too! So best of luck!" Mira added, the flinching turning into full blown startled gasps.

"No complaining! We all had to go through this same thing to get to where we are today so you kids aren't getting any breaks from us!" Gildarts said with a chuckle, the gasps giving way to terrified silence.

"Gildarts is gonna be in this! Aw yeah! This is gonna be great!" Natsu shouted excitedly, more than a few people looking at him like he was absolutely insane.

"For this trial, only the strongest and most intelligent mage will pass. The exam will take place in one week! Prepare yourselves however you see fit and be in Hargeon port by noon one week from today. That is all!"

"Cautious warning; Master, you should be cautious if you are forced to engage in combat with that man, his ethernano levels are far higher than most mages.

But all Lucy could do in way of a reply was make a non-committal hum, her mind still failing to process the fact that she had been chosen for this trial.  _Surely this is some sort of mistake? How could I, a mage who can't even remember her time in this place, chosen for one of the guild's greatest honors? I need to talk to the Master._ "You two wait here, I need to speak to Master Makarov." Lucy announced as she started to make her way though the crowd to the corner of the guild where the Master was speaking with the S-class mages.

"Ah Lucy my dear, is there something I help you with?" The kind old man questioned when he noticed her approaching, the other mages stopping their conversation to look at her, their combined gazes making her more nervous than she would have thought possible.

"A-ah…Master? May I speak with you privately for a moment?" Lucy eventually asked, her voice quiet and wavering slightly in confusion.

The wizard saint regarded her for a moment, his neutral gaze hiding his thoughts well before he nodded and looked up at the three mages around him. "Of course, you may my dear. You three, I expect Tenrou to be prepared for our arrival. We will see you there."

"Of course Master. Well then, if you'll excuse us." Erza answered first, bowing slightly before turning and moving to walk past the nervous blonde. However, before she passed, Erza placed an armored hand upon Lucy's shoulder, her gaze softening as she looking into the younger mages eyes. "Good luck to you Lucy, I expect you to give your all in this trial. I will see you in a week."

"…Thank you Erza, I'll try." Lucy replied with a smile of her own as the Requip mage patted her shoulder once more before moving on, Mira and Gildarts both smiling at her as well as they too moved past.

"Now then my dear, what can I do for you?" Makarov questioned, drawing both the blonde's attention and her thoughts back to the anxious question that was currently dominating her thoughts.

"Umm…Master? Are you…" Lucy stuttered, unsure of herself, before freezing when the tiny mage patted her on the ankle.

"Its all right my child, just take a deep breath, count to five, and ask your question."

Lucy nodded before complying with the Master's orders, the blonde mildly surprised to find that after releasing her pent-up breath she did indeed feel calmer than she did before. "Master, are you certain that it's a good idea for me to take part in this trial?"

The Master blinked up at her in surprise for a moment before frowning slightly and crossing his arms. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…am I really worthy of this as I am now?" Lucy forced out, her words barely audible as she finished. "I do not remember my time with this guild, my mind only able to recall bits and pieces of who I was here. Surely there are others who deserve a place in this exam more than me?"

The Master was silent after Lucy finished her explanation, his gaze making her feel like he was examining her piece by piece. "Do you not feel happy at being chosen for the test?"

"No! Its not that!" Lucy quickly declined, her voice climbing a few octaves in panic before she lowered her tone once again. "It's just that I can't help but feel like…like I'm just living someone else's life." She admitted, turning away form the now startled expression on the Master's face. "I don't belong here as I am, without knowing any of you. I hear these stories about how I both fought for the guild, and the guild fought for me, and I feel is guilty for not remembering. I…I don't know who Lucy of Fairy Tail is…so I pretend to be like the person from before, the girl that Natsu fought so hard to save…" Lucy turned back to the Makarov with tears in her eyes, the blonde slightly surprised to see that there was no pity in the old man's face, though she couldn't really identify what emotion was currently swirling in the depths of his eyes. "Surely, a pretender such as myself doesn't deserve such an honor of being someone to represent the guild's finest?"

Silence reigned between the two of them as Lucy finished speaking, Makarov gazing up at her with a flat gaze while she fought to not fidget under his stare. But finally, the old man spoke. "…Ture, someone only pretending to be my child is undeserving of being an S-class mage." The Master admitted, Lucy's heart both sinking to her feet and feeling somehow lighter at his admission, but confusion was all she felt as he continued. "But I see no pretender here, only a child who has grown far too skilled at hiding her pain."

"Master-."

"Lucy, who exactly do you think this other Lucy was that you cannot measure up to her?" the old man cut her off, his expression stern but not unkind. The blonde mage for her part couldn't help but bite the inside of her cheek as she considered his question, no real answer coming to her. and seeing her silence, the Wizard saint pressed onward. "Shall I tell you about her then? Lucy of Fairy Tail was a relatively quiet girl, though she was always willing to talk if someone came to her. She understood little of how the world worked, her strange sensibilities causing no end of headaches for her companions, though in the end, her strange mannerisms only endeared her to her guildmates. She was strong, wielding powerful elemental magics and commanding the loyalty of elementals far greater than herself."

It was then that the Master smiled up at her. "But by far, her greatest strength was her kindness. During her time in our family, Lucy sacrificed herself far too many times to keep the people she cared about safe. A truly excellent mage…the very same mage that I see standing before me, worried that she would mistakenly harm those she cares about by being a part of this coming trial."

Despite the interference of her other side attempting to suppress her emotions, Lucy couldn't help the tears that where now leaking from her eyes as she covered her mouth with both hands. "B-But…that's…"

"In the three weeks you have been back with us I have seen nothing that would invalidate my decision to include you in the S-class trial…but if you truly feel like you cannot be trusted with this position then I will not force you to participate." The Master declared with a sigh, Lucy still fighting to get her gratitude under control. "Though I will ask that you think on it for at least the remainder of the day. Will you at least give yourself that much of a chance?"

"I…I will." Lucy managed to stutter as she smiled and bowed low. "Thank you, Master Makarov."

"Ah, don't worry about it child…besides, I've gotten something good out of this as well!" The wizard saint replied with a strange sounding chuckle, Lucy looking back up to see the old man no longer meeting her gaze, but instead staring farther down, the blonde tilting her head slightly in confusion as to what exactly had drawn his attention. But whatever he had been looking at only made him laugh all the harder. "And there's the Lucy we all know and love! Go on child, go join your friends." And with that the man jumped up on the counter, having to fetch his own beer now that Mira was gone.

Lucy remained in the corner of the guild for a few seconds more, the blonde attempting to wipe the confusion from her face. Was there really nothing different about her even without her memories. She wanted to believe the Master, as he didn't seem like the type of person who would lead others astray just for his own amusement, but at the same time…

 _No, I can think about it later. I need to return to the others. Artemis is probably going to come find me soon anyway._ Lucy decided as she made her way though the guild, finding most of her team along with a few other mages all gathered at a table.

"Yo Luce, what'd ya want to talk to the old man about?" Natsu questioned with a smile when he noticed her approaching.

"Nothing of consequence, just confirming something about the trial." Lucy explained as she took her seat. Artemis, still in her Exceed form, sitting down in front of the blonde with a cautious look on her face, almost as if she expected someone at the table to jump up and attack them at any moment.

"Ya, Gramps isn't going to give you any hints just 'cause your new Lucy. Plus, it's not like you're the only one whose doing this for the first time." Gray commented as he crossed his arms, Lucy blinking at him for a second before finally getting what he was implying, the blonde shaking her head in denial almost immediately.

"Ah no, I wasn't looking for hints. Just wanted to double check my understanding of the event." Lucy explained before remembering just what exactly the Ice mage had said. "Wait, this is your first time taking the exam too?"

"Yep, Gramps never bothered to let us take part before…probably 'cause he knows we'd destroy anyone else in the trials." Gray said as he gestured to himself, Natsu, and Elfman. "Heck, some years he doesn't even pick anyone to take the trial so the fact that he has eight of us this time around really is odd."

"Gahhh! With so much competition, my path to being a man just got so much longer!" Elfman cried out as he graphed his head and shouted upwards, apparently too stressed out by the thoughts of the trials to hold it in anymore.

"What? Are you kiddin' me Elfman? I'm super fired up for the fights! Me and Happy are gonna steam roll you losers." Natsu cockily declared, Natsu standing up on the table and nodding along with the fire dragon slayers explanation.

"So Happy is your partner then Natsu?" Lucy clarified.

"Aye! I'm going to make Natsu a S-class wizard."

"That's not fair! If there's a race then Happy can just fly you to the end!" Elfman complained, his all together fair point ignored by nearly everyone at the table.

"Ehh…so your finally good enough for the trials, eh Natsu?" Lisanna hummed as she smiled at the pink haired mage, Natsu nodding and grinning widely. "I always remember you talking about how you couldn't wait to be an S-class wizard so that you could meet your old man, and now your dream's going to come true!" the white-haired take over mage gushed, Natsu, blushing for reasons Lucy couldn't understand and looking away.

"Shut up! It just makes sense that if I'm better than anyone else I can find my pops easier." The fire dragon slayer muttered, Lisanna giggling in response.

"U-umm…Juvia isn't sure she wants to compete in this trial." The blue haired rain woman shyly muttered as she rubbed her arms together, everyone at the table looking at her in surprise.

"Eh?! Why not?" Wendy asked in confusion, the water mage only murmuring incoherently in response.

"What the heck are you sayin' now? Speak up!" Gray half growled, causing Juiva to jump slightly in her chair.

"Well…its just…because if Juvia doesn't compete, then Juvia could be…could be Gray's partner."

"Nah, you couldn't be my partner even if you weren't in it this year…'cause I already chose my partner a long time ago." Gray denied cockily as someone walked up behind Lucy, Artemis tensing at the new contact.

"Hey guys, long time no see." Loke greeted, Lucy blinking owlishly at the greater light elemental.

"…I didn't notice you come though the gate." The blonde said, voicing her thoughts unintentionally in her shock.

But the light elemental only laughed lightly at her confusion. "I came though on my own power so I wouldn't take any of yours…sorry Lucy, but I'm going to have to put our contract on hold for the next week or so. I swear on my pride as both an elemental and a member of this guild that I'll make Gray an S-class wizard."

"Lookin' forward to working with you partner." Gray said with a confident grin before turning said grin on Juvia. "So there ya have it, I've already got my partner, so you'd better come at me with your best shot. Let's have a passionate fight like we did during the war."

"P-passionate…!" Juvia breathed, almost like she was talking to herself, before shaking her head and staring down at the table. "J-Juvia understands…but Juvia still needs to find a partner for herself.

"Oh oho! I'll be your partner!" Lisanna declared as she stood up and flashed a V. "I always got along great with the Edolas Juvia, and your even cuter than she is! So I'm sure we'll do great!"

"Lisanna…are you going after Gray as well?" the rain woman muttered so quietly that only the dragon slayers at the table heard her.

"W-wait a sec Lisanna, if you team up with her then who'll be my partner? Are you just gonna leave your man of a brother behind?" Elfman shouted even louder than normal, though his antics only caused his younger sister to giggle and point over her shoulder.

"Don't worry big brother, you've got someone looking at you quite passionately right over there! I'm sure she'd love to be your partner!" The white-haired mage revealed, the table turning their attention to the bar to see Evergreen staring straight at the middle of the Strauss siblings with a petrifying stare. "looks like she's not too happy about Freid and Bickslow teaming up and leaving her behind."

"…I feel like she's going to turn me to stone though…" Elfman muttered, shivering noticeably, before standing and making his way over to the bar.

"Observation; Master, the competition appears to be quite fierce. I recommend brining this unit as your partner." The Machias declared, her tone carrying more than a little pride despite the fact that she was just making an observation.

"Or me! I'd love to help you Lucy! Just say the word!" Tiria added in a sing-songy voice, both Natsu and Gray flinching slightly at her tone.

"Thank you…but I'm not sure I want to take part either…" Lucy admitted, her eyes turning downward as everyone at the table looked at her in shock.

"Seriously? You too? What, did you want to be my partner as well?" Gray scoffed before smirking cockily. "I mean, not that I blame you ladies, I can see the appeal but still." He continued, Lucy jumping slightly at the low growl that emanated from her opposite side, though when she quickly turned to look both see could see no reason for such a nose, though Tiria and Natsu were both looking away from her.

"No, that idea never crossed my mind." Lucy explained, not noticing how Gray deflated at her explanation. "I just…not feel like I should be taking part."

"…nah, that's just wrong." Natsu eventually declared, his tone normal, like he was talking about the weather.

Lucy's head shot up to look at her teammate, the man who had nearly died to get her back from Jude Heartfilia and couldn't help but let a little of the anxiety she was feeling slip though her mask. "…no?"

"Nah. Your too strong and too good of a person for Gramps to pass you up. Heck, I was surprised he waited till the end before sayin' your name, I thought you'd be the first pick." Natsu continued as he crossed his arms and nodded his head, like his explanation was the most obvious thing in the world, Lucy's cheeks heating slightly in response to his high opinion of her. "And it doesn't even matter if you want to drop out, 'cause I'm not gonna let you."

"…Eh?"

"You're the one I wanna fight the most Luce, 'cause I gotta show you just how strong I am!" Natsu declared with a confident grin as he held out fist. "So stop being all weird like you always are and just go for it! That's what a Fairy Tail mage does!"

And just like that, all the worries the blonde had about the trial vanished, burned away without a trace. A smile of her own forming as she too held out her fist. "…alright then, don't expect me to hold back just because you're my partner."

"Same to you Luce! Come on Happy, lets go get started on training! We gotta lot of work to do if we wanna beat Ice-breath and Luce!"

"Aye sir! Bye Lucy, bye guys!" And with that the two ran from the guild.

"…Heh, 'bout time. It was getting painful watching you two flounder all the time." Gray eventually said with a scoff, Lucy turning to stare at her other teammate in confusion.

"…flounder? I don't understand, I don't have any fish on me." Lucy answered in confusion, Gray simply shrugging in response.

"Eh, you'll get it eventually."

"Hopefully soon! They'll be so cute together! I know Sis is really looking forward to it too!" Lisanna cooed from Juvia's side, her comment only leaving Lucy more confused than ever.

Eventually the day ended and after informing the Master of her intention to participate, the old mage not even remotely surprised by her decision, Lucy made her way back to Fairy Hills. A light snow had started falling upon the town, casting everything in a strange, almost otherworldly appearance.

 _Snow…I've still not gotten used to such a strange phenomenon even after so many years of being out of the Institute._ Lucy couldn't help but think as she held out her hands and allowed the miniature ice crystals to flutter down upon her palms, enjoying the feeling of them melting after a second and cooling her skin.  _There's so much that I don't understand about the world…and its weaknesses like that that I should take into account when choosing a partner._

Indeed, despite having chosen to participate in the exam, Lucy had yet to take on a partner. As she had wanted to take time to carefully consider her options before making any decision, just as she did when picking who would accompany her on missions back in the institute.

 _Artemis is a decent choice, as her versatility in long range would give us both options for dealing with opponents before they get into range…but at the same time neither of us handle ourselves well in close combat. And close range magics are what nearly everyone else in the guild uses. Tiria then? She can handle fighting up close…but we didn't work all that much together back in the Institute so I don't have a good idea of how she fights…hm, this is difficult. No wonder its so hard to become an S-class mage._ Lucy couldn't help but admit as she made her way to the door of the building, only to stop when she noticed someone laying outside half buried in the snow, a large number of bottles scattered around them.

"…Cana?" Lucy muttered, Artemis observing the brown-haired mage for a moment before looking up at Lucy.

"Disapproving observation; Master, it appears this mage has had too much to drink today, this unit recommends brining her inside and warming her core temperature up to nominal levels.

"Nnn." Lucy hummed in response as she placed the false Exceed down and hefted the still limp older girl over her shoulders, the three quickly making their way into Lucy's room and out of the cold night air.

"Ah, you're a life saver Lucy. If I had been out there for much longer then id be a gonner." Cana apologized as Lucy handed her ad cup of tea to warm back up, the blonde taking a seat across from the brown-haired woman.

"Your welcome…but if I may, why were you out there to begin with? Does this…does this have something to do with what you told me yesterday?" Lucy eventually managed to ask, almost afraid of knowing the answer.

"Ah…yeah." Cana admitted as she scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. "That's part of it…though I always get like this this time of year."

"…Why?" Lucy continued, Cana sighing and looking up at the ceiling.

"…you know, this'll be my fifth time taking the S-class test." Cana muttered, continuing to observe the planks that made up the blondes roof. "I've failed this test four times already…I'm just a mage that cant live up to expectations."

"I see…but is there something wrong with failing and trying again? Doesn't a Fairy Tail mage just… 'go for it' no matter what?"

"I've failed too many times…and at this point, if I fail this one, then I've decided to quit Fairy Tail." Cana declared as she looked back down but had yet met Lucy's concerned gaze.

"…But isn't Fairy Tail a family? Does a title really mean that much compared to that?"

"It matters to me!" Cana shouted almost furiously as she glared at Lucy, causing the blonde to flinch back in surprise and for Artemis to tense in preparation for combat. But the fire that had been behind her eyes vanished as tears took their place. "I have to be an S-class mage…I wont have the right to facve that man…"

"That man?" Lucy forged ahead, waving down Artemis who bowed and left the two alone.

"…My father…Gildarts." Cana admitted, Lucy freezing at her admission.

The brown-haired card mage went on to explain how her mother had died when she was young, leaving Cana a note that said she could find her father in the Fairy Tail guild, a man by the name of Gildarts. The young Cana had of course gone in search of the other half of her family, but after finding and joining the guild she just couldn't admit to their relationship. For years she watched from afar as the strongest mage in Fairy Tail came and went, until one day she decided that once she became one of the guilds strongest she would finally tell him that she was his daughter.

"But I've never even gotten close to getting to passing the S-class trial." Cana finished with a humorless laugh. "So, this time…this time, if I fail, I'll be done with this. I'll leave the guild."

Lucy stared down at her table, her eyes wide and her heart filled with compassion. This mage before her, this member of her family, had a chance at something she would never have. A chance to know their parent. And she was willing to give it up just because she wasn't strong enough?

 _…No, I won't allow this!_ Lucy decided before looking back up at the now freely crying brown haired woman. "…I'll make you S-class." The blonde declared, Cana looking at her with an uncomprehending look.

"Wha…"

"I won't let you leave the guild like this. I'll make sure you become an S-class mage Cana." Lucy reiterated, her tone leaving no room for argument.

Cana's eyes widened then, the tears falling with renewed vigor. "…Thank you, Lucy." She eventually said before a defeated smile crept across her cheeks. "But how exactly do you plan to do that if your part of the trial too?"

"By making sure that no one else stands in your way." Lucy continued as her mind was already formulating the best possible strategy for Cana's victory.  _Natsu might be mad at me for throwing the trial, but if anyone can understand doing something for family its him…but how do I make sure Cana wins? I'm not good enough at acting to convince others to drop out themselves…so I guess the only way to make sure Cana wins is to ensure she has the best team._ "Who did you pick for your partner?"

"Ah…I haven't picked one yet. There wasn't really anyone who stood out as a good partner ya know?" Cana admitted as she scratched her cheek and looked away, Lucy nodding and placing a hand on her chin.

 _Artemis is out as a partner for her. she'll need access to my lightning elemental gem to power her otherwise Artemis will power down…and that just leaves…_ "I think I know who you can take as a partner. The person I was going to have for mine." Lucy eventually decided, Cana returning her gaze to the blonde with concern in her eyes.

"Are you sure? Then who will you partner up with?"

"Well…"  _I guess that I should team up with Artemis then…hang on!_ "I think I have an idea, someone who mentioned wanting to spend more time with me and hear about my mom…plus she can make sure I make it far enough into the fight to ensure your victory."  _Plus she can help me on the ship._

"Who?" Cana questioned, Lucy smiling as she stood up from the table.

"Wendy Marvel."

* * *

Natsu couldn't help but tap his foot impatiently as he waited by the giant Fairy Tail ship for everybody else to show up, as Gramps had smacked him off the deck when he tried to get on early.

He and Happy had shown up before the sun had even risen, as the pink haired slayer was just too excited to get on with it to wait until noon. It was finally his time! His chance to be S-class! He could go on any mission he wanted and scour the globe for his pops! Just him, Happy, and Luce, the three of them going on all kinds of adventures, beating up badies, and finding Igneel!

 _Plus, then I can introduce Luce to the old man. I'm sure she'll be happy to meet him…and maybe he can tell her about the whole mates' thing if her mom didn't tell her about it._ Natsu thought, his cheeks heating a little not at all due to his flames.

Natsu had thought hard, harder than he ever had in his life, over the last four weeks about what to do about his feelings. And everything he thought about just made him all the more depressed. He was foolin' himself if he really thought he could just hide his feelings forever. Heck, Natsu could barely hide anything from people, least of all his partner. He still felt bad some days about lying to her when they went on that S-class mission, the look of betrayal on her face when she found out still haunting him.

But if he wasn't gonna try to hide it, then his only choice was to make Luce fall for him…and that was somethin' that the fire dragon slayer had absolutely no clue how to do.

Igneel had talked about how dragons found mates, by showing off how strong they were by defeating their potential mate in combat. And while the fire dragon slayer wasn't really all that confident that the same method would work for dragon slayers…it couldn't hurt, right?

So that was what he was gonna do. He was gonna beat everyone else in the trial, beat Gildarts, and prove he was strong enough to keep her safe. Then he could talk to her about this whole mating thing.

 _Heck, maybe she'll fall for me when she sees how cool I am! Heh, ehe…that'll be perfect!_ Natsu thought as he started to chuckle darkly in real life too, Happy looking up at him with a concerned look on his feline face.

"Natsu, your doing that weird laugh again. Did your head break from all the training?"

"No! I'm fine Happy! Yep, never been better!" Natsu answered after jumping slightly, the blue Exceed sighing heavily and shaking his head.

But his partner didn't have any more time to question the fire dragon slayer, as the other teams were finally starting to show up. Gray, Elfman, Juvia, heck even Levy had shown up already with the metal head as her partner! But they were still missing two teams, one of which was the person Natsu was waiting for.

"Aw man, where is she?" Natsu couldn't help but complain.

"Don't worry Natsu, Lucy won't miss this." Happy replied, Natsu growling under his breath as he thought back to that day a week ago. He didn't know why his partner was all worried about takin' part in the trial, but he knew she didn't have anything she should be worrying about. Just Luce being weird like normal.

"I know Happy, just thinkin' about how weird she really is." Natsu returned with a grin.

"Well sorry for being weird, but my life's been abnormal lately anyway." A voice Natsu easily recognized called out from behind him, causing the fire dragon slayer to jump and turn around to see his partner standing there with her arm's crossed.

"heya Luce! Nice of ya to finally join us!" Natsu greeted before finally noticing the bluenette standing by her side. "Wendy? What are you doing here?"

"I'm Lucy's partner! She asked me to help her and I won't let her down!" Wendy declared confidently, the younger slayer holding her fists up as Lucy placed a hand on the girls head.

"Nnn, I as the oldest female dragon slayer, I thought I should spend some time with Wendy one on one…plus its nice to hear how others grew up with their dragons."

"Yes! I've been telling Lucy all about my time with Grandeeney and she's been telling me stories about Tiamat!" Wendy explained excitedly before the light in her eyes dimmed slightly. "And even though a lot of her stories weren't really that happy, I like hearing about the dragons."

Natsu smiled down at the younger slayer. "Ya, I get what your sayin' Wendy. But me and Happy still aren't gonna lose!" Natsu declared, both female slayers narrowing their eyes at his declaration. "So now we're just waitin' on Cana and we'll be good to go!" Natsu informed, the fire dragon slayer noticing Lucy tensing at the mention of the card mage.

"Ah, she should be here soon." The blonde announced.

And sure enough, almost like she was summoned by Lucy's declaration, Cana emerged from the crowd with a grim look on her face…and the last person Natsu wanted to see walking by her side.

"Hello Lucy! Nice to see you again!" Tiria greeted before looking over at Natsu, her grin turning more predatory as she did so. "And Natsu Dragneel, your looking far less pathetic than normal!"

Natsu couldn't help but growl at the green haired slayer, still frustrated beyond belief at dealing with the two-faced water slayer. She was so good at her little act that the fire dragon slayer had no doubts that Lucy had no idea about how she really was.

But hey, at least he had the chance to finally beat down the annoying water dragon slayer in front of Lucy, so that was a plus.

"Tiria." Natsu eventually greeted, the word almost having to be forced from his throat, before turning back to the ship and bracing himself for the coming stomachache.


	29. Chapter 29

Despite not having the memories to back up her assumption, Lucy was fairly certain that she would be grateful regardless for the harsh element training she had received back at the Institute. It was hot, it was so very hot. The blonde mage could only assume that wherever this place known as Tenrou Island was located, it was clearly close to the equator, if not right on top of it. Nearly everyone on board had changed into some form of swimsuit in order to avoid suffering from heatstroke, the sole exception being the Master who had simply changed into a floral shirt.

And that wasn't even mentioning the motion sickness. While it was true that she had specifically brought the younger dragon slayer as her partner specifically for her supports spells, Lucy had asked that Wendy conserve her magic energy until they were closer to their destination.

Which of course led to her doing the only thing she could do, laying sprawled out on the deck. "…Uwughh…t-to think that S-class mages must endure such suffering to obtain their rank…I have a newfound respect for Erza…at least, I think I do."

"U-um, I don't think that this is really part of the test yet." Wendy commented from just off to Lucy's side, the blunette resting her head against the table in an attempt to cool down, Levy sitting at the same table in the same attempt to escape the heat.

"You ok there Lu? You look kinda pale." Levy couldn't help but ask as the blonde couldn't help but groan pathetically once again.

"…No, I'm not." Lucy finally admitted as she turned her attention to her junior slayer. "Wendyyy…help."

"Oh! Of course, Lucy! Hang in there!" Wendy half shouted as she leapt up out of her chair. More than happy to prove to Lucy that the blonde hadn't made a mistake in asking Wendy to partner up with her.

"Wendy…m-me too…" Natsu called out from the front of the ship as she wobbled around almost drunkenly.

However, Wendy shook her head in denial. "Sorry Natsu, but since I'm Lucy's partner and you're our competition I can't help you today. I'm so sorry." The sky dragon slayer apologized as her Troia spell took effect, Lucy springing back to her feet, nodding in satisfaction, and placing a comforting hand on the younger girl's head, Wendy squeaking slightly in surprise.

"Much better. Thank you, Wendy." Lucy said with a grateful, heartfelt, smile on her lips. The younger slayer blushing at the honest praise.

"Y-your welcome!"

"…Traitors…" Natsu eventually growled as he staggered over to where Loke was sitting, the light elemental warily watching the fire dragon slayer approach.

"Natsu, I get that your seasick, but could you at least try and not loose your lunch on the rest of us ya know?" The brown-haired mage complained as Natsu leaned over the side of the ship, the noises coming from his mouth causing Lucy's own stomach to perform its own acrobatic feats.

So, she was more than happy to respond when Wendy got her attention. "Umm…Lucy? Do you think we should make some more strategies? Maybe get ready for the fight?"

"Unnn…no, we should be fine for the moment." Lucy declared after a moment of thought. "Without knowing exactly what the first test is going to entail wasting our energy preparing for it would be a determent rather than a boon."

"O-oh." The blue haired slayer muttered as she fidgeted in her seat. "I just…I don't wanna disappoint you. You could have picked anyone to be your partner and they'd probably be a better choice than me…you could have even picked Tiria if you wanted to, but you asked me to be your partner. I just…I don't want to drag you down with me because I couldn't keep up."

Lucy couldn't help but tilt her head in confusion for a moment before looking up at where the water dragon slayer was standing, the other younger slayer speaking with Elfman with a pleasant look on her face despite the fact that the white-haired man in question looked tense, far more so than he had at any other point on the trip. Perhaps he was simply nervous over the coming battles? True, Tiria was quite the potent fighter, capable of holding her own against nearly anyone in physical combat. And it was also true that her style worked very well with Lucy's own ranged based combat.

But at the same time… "You've misunderstood me Wendy. You were one of my first choices as a partner."

"Eh?" The blunette muttered in surprise.

"True, you aren't as strong in combat as Tiria. But you can't compare yourself to Tiria or me when it comes to combat, as we had a…different training regime than most." Lucy explained, not missing the slight flinch the younger slayer gave at the mention of the Institute. "But that doesn't make you any weaker. Your healing and support spells give you far more versatility in combat than either myself or Tiria can come close to."

"Lucy." Wendy gushed out as she gazed up at the blonde slayer, her eyes swimming with some sort of emotion.

"And besides, if being an S-class mage was just based off of combat strength then Natsu and Gray would have obtained that rank years ago from what I've seen of them. Whatever this test entails, having more options would be better than pure magical power." Lucy continued to explain as she looked away with a slight pink tint to her cheeks, a feeling of embarrassment welling up in her chest for reasons she couldn't quite explain. "So just focus on doing your best to support me, alright?"

"Yes! I'll do my best!" The sky dragon slayer half shouted as she started to shadow box an imaginary enemy.

 _…Sorry Wendy, even though your willing to fight, I don't intend to win this tournament._ Lucy apologized in her mind as she looked across the ship at Cana, the brown-haired card mage sitting by herself staring off into space. Not only did Lucy have to ensure that she fought hard enough to get though the opening rounds of the trials, but she also had to ensure that Cana had everything she required to pass the tests…not exactly an easy thing to achieve, especially since she was the only one aware of those secondary objectives.

She had considered informing Tiria and Wendy of her decision to throw the trials to ensure Cana's success, but in the end, Cana had informed her that she didn't want the others to know of her parentage just yet. As such, Lucy had only made general plans for the future.

The most difficult part would most likely be trying to slip information to the card mage if Lucy happened upon any clues. From what Cana had mentioned, each previous trial had included a puzzle of some sort that the participants had to solve in order to progress, and while Lucy didn't doubt the card mages intelligence, any help would be better than nothing.

_The easiest way would be to write out my discoveries and use a wind elemental to carry the message to her. But the question is, how exactly do I keep Tiria and Wendy from noticing it? I might be able to explain it to Wendy as an attempt at confusing our opponents, but how to I sneak it by Tirira? Of all the mages I still remember, she will see though me the easiest…so what to do?_

But in the end, Lucy never arrived at a satisfactory answer, as it wasn't long until one of the strangest islands Lucy had ever seen appeared on the horizon. Or at least she assumed it was one of the most unusual, as she hadn't recovered that much of her memories pertaining to maritime missions.

"Wow…an island on top of an island? You don't see that every day." Levy commented in awe as nearly every participant with the exception of Natsu, who was still leaning over the side of the ship, stood to get a better look at the site of the trial.

"Its amazing, even from all the way out here I can feel the magical energy coming off the island." Wendy added, Lucy nodding her head in agreement. Indeed, the air was heavy with ethernano, to the point that if she had access to her dragon slaying powers the blonde could easily absorb enough energy to activate her more draconic features.

"We have arrived Children! Behold, holy land of our guild; Tenrou!" The Master announced from the second level of the ship. "It is said that once, long ago, fairies used to inhabit this island. And as such it is also the place where our first master, Mavis Vermilion, chose to be buried. A perfect place to hold our trials for the year."

And with that the Master closed his fan and pointed at the shoreline of the still approaching island. "For your first trial, each team must make their way to the signal fire lit upon the shores of our guilds sacred ground. Once there you will find a series of cave entrances, each one marked with a letter. Each team must pick one route, and along these routes you will encounter one of three possibilities. Combat, where the teams must fight each other until only one team remains. Intense combat, where the unlucky team must battle against one of our guilds S-class mages to pass. And Serenity, a path with no dangers or combat of any form." The Master explained, Lucy narrowing her eyes in thought with each part of the explanation.

 _I can understand testing us against each other, and even pitting us against the strongest mages, but what does the serenity path prove? Luck isn't a concept that one person can have an advantage in over another…is this just the master being lazy?_ Lucy couldn't help but think as the other teams began to strategies amongst themselves.

"L-Lucy! What do we do if we end up on the wrong path? I-I don't want to fight against an S-class mage!" Wendy cried out in worry, but Lucy simply smiled down at the younger girl.

"Don't worry, even if we end up with the intense combat, we should be able to pull though somehow." The blonde comforted just before the Master cleared his throat gather their attention back to him.

"Well then, now that you've all had a moment to collect yourselves, I declare the first trial of Fairy Tail's S-class promotion trial officially underway!" The old mage announced as he clapped his hands, nearly every mage on the ship blinking at him in shock that he would announce the start of the test right then and there, Lucy included.

But like everyone else gathered there, she recovered rather quickly from her stupor. Turning around and sprinting for the side of the ship in one fell swoop, Wendy right on her heels.

"Spirit of Water, manifest and obey my will." Lucy chanted as a lesser water spirit appeared behind the elemental summoner. "Wendy, when we get in the water, swim with everything you have! The water spirit will make a current behind us to help speed us up."

"O-ok!" The sky dragon slayer answered as Lucy leapt up into the air, intending to dive into the ocean…

…only to slam into a vaguely familiar purple wall of runes.

"Eh?" The blonde couldn't help but mutter in shock as she rubbed her now sore nose, vaguely aware that Natsu and Happy had impacted the same wall just above her.

"No need to be concerned, as the barrier will fall in five minutes." One of the mages selected for the trial, a man by the name of Freed if Lucy remembered correctly, announced as he and his partner slowly flew away from the ship.

"Freed, you bastard! Let us out of here!" Gray shouted in fury as he pounded on the runes for a moment before turning back to the Master. "Oi Gramps, this has got to be against the rules right?"

"Eh? It's not a race, so who cares?" The old man answered as he began to fan himself once again.

Not that Gray was having any of it. "If we let them get to the island first, he's just gonna put runes everywhere before we even get started! That cant be fair!" The ice make mage continued to complain, the Master simply choosing to ignore his words in favor of cooling himself off.

"Oh, I know! Levy can get us through!" Happy announced from on high, where he and Natsu were still hovering.

"You bet I can! I've been practicing rewriting enchantments!" Levy announced to a chorus of "ohhh!", only for the blue haired mage to look over her shoulder and stick out her tongue. "…but only for me and Gajeel!"

"Gehi! Good goin' shrimp!" The iron dragon slayer shouted as he and Levy leapt over the side.

"…ah." Was all that Lucy managed to get out, the elemental mage feeling a vague sense of betrayal at the blunette's actions.

A sense of betrayal that was slightly mitigated when Levy turned back to the ship before swimming away. "Sorry Lu! I'm make it up to you when we get back to the guild. Promise! See you later!"

"…Oi! Where did big brother Elfman and Evergreen go?" Lisanna noticed, drawing the gazes of the other gathered mages. "Did they manage to get out before the runes took effect?"

"Gahhh! So there's already gonna be three paths taken already? This sucks! Let me out of here ya bastards!" Natsu shouted as he continued pounding on the barrier.

Lucy on the other hand, simply sat down and crossed her arms. It wasn't impossible to escape, as the blonde was fairly certain that the green haired enchanter hadn't thought to enchant the bottom of the hull in addition to the outside edge, but she was fairly certain that the Master wouldn't be too thrilled with her destroying their only ride home. So, with no other choice, she simply chose to wait for the remaining four minutes.

Wendy quickly took a seat beside her, the blunette twiddling her fingers as they waited for the barrier to fall. "Umm…Lucy? Do you have any ideas on what we should do when we get to the island? What path we should take?"

"Hmm…no, not really." The blonde admitted after a moment. "The Master didn't give us any clues in his announcement, and I highly doubt that he hasn't taken precautions in regards to attempting to scout out the paths beforehand." Lucy continued as she stared up into the bright blue sky. "We'll just have to pick one and hope for the best."

"Mmm! I'll do my best!" Wendy announced confidently.

And sure enough, four minutes or so later, Lucy could feel the change in the air as the runes dissipated. Lucy leapt to her feet, traded a nod with the younger slayer, and the two leapt off the railing of the ship.

 _Spirit of water, hear me. Turn the currents against my foes and please grant Cana Alberona and Tiria Irving your blessings as well._ Lucy silently requested the lesser elemental, smiling slightly as she felt its presence flare as its magics took effect. With Tiria on her team, Cana wouldn't likely have much difficulty in reaching the shore, but once she was there there was little the blonde mage could do for her. she would simply have to hope that Cana found her way onto the Serenity path.

* * *

It didn't take long for the current and former dragon slayers to make their way to the shore, as neither were incompetent swimmers and the aid of a water spirit most certainly helped. But upon reaching the beach, both mages couldn't help but stop and stare up at the strange land before them in shock and surprise.

"This island…its filled with magical energy…" Wendy eventually voiced their observations, her eyes wide as she breathed the ethernano-saturated air.

"Yea…something powerful is here." Lucy agreed, her skin practically tingling with the amount of pure magic in the air. Was this the reason that this was considered holy ground to their guild? It made sense if it was, as Lucy could easily imagine quite a few organizations that would kill to have access to a natural fount of magical energy. "Alright, lets get moving.'

"Right!" Wendy agreed as the two girls made their way in the direction of the signal fire, Wendy casting a light Vernier spell on them to enhance their speed.

Despite the increase in their pace however, by the time the two arrived four of the routes had been sealed. A golden barrier barring their path to the clearly selected paths.

"Hmm…A, B, F and E have been taken huh?" Lucy mused out loud as she looked at each unclaimed tunnel in turn.

"I-I'm sorry Lucy, if I was just a little bit faster we would have had better choices." The younger slayer apologized, Lucy quickly shaking her head in denial.

"No, its fine. Don't worry about it." The blonde replied as she considered her options, she could try and summon a wind spirit to travel down the open paths and determine what exactly was waiting for them, but even if she did so there was no guarantee that the other teams wouldn't arrive and claim their own path while Lucy was investigating. Better to just pick their poison fast and hope for the best.

"Hmmm…how about H?" Lucy eventually announced, Wendy blinking up at the blonde in confusion.

"Why that one Lucy?" The blunette couldn't help but ask, Lucy shrugging slightly in response.

"No real reason. It just seems like the way to go." The blonde explained, Wendy blinking up at her for a moment before quickly shaking her head back and forth.

 _I-I'm sure that it's just that Lucy has far better senses than I do, she has been a slayer for a lot longer after all. I'm certain she can sense something that I can't!_ The younger slayer decided as the two girls began to make their way though the mouth of the cave, the entrance sealing shut behind them.

The two walked in silence for a time Wendy enjoying the ocean side view while Lucy stared straight ahead, but eventually they found the narrow cavern beginning to widen. And before long they found themselves in a wide cavern with a flag hanging in the center, the symbol for 'combat' being written in its center. Two men Lucy easily recognized standing in the center of the chamber.

"Heh, well look who's finally here. Took you two long enough." Gray commented with a smirk as he cracked his knuckles, Loke smiling with just as much bloodlust as he adjusted his sunglasses.

"Sorry Wendy, Lucy. But I'm going to give it my all for my partner. No hard feelings alright?"

"Don't worry Lucy, we got this! I won't let you down!" Wendy announced as she tensed, ready for combat.

Unfortunately, Lucy didn't quite share the younger slayer's optimism.  _This is bad, Loke is an expert in close range combat, and from what I remember of Gray Fullbuster, he's capable of fighting at nearly any range. Without my other sides help I won't be able to fight efficiently in close range, and Wendy won't hold out for long either._ If they were going to have any chance of winning, her opening shot would be paramount.

"Hmm…are you two ready?" Lucy asked as she drew Lemegeton, the light that comprised the bow and its string warping into their proper shape.

"Ya! Let's do this!" Gray shouted as he rushed forward, and with that the battle was on.

 _Well, since I already have a water elemental active, might as well make use of it._ Lucy decided as she drew back an arrow, a part of the water elemental breaking away to wrap around her pale white shot. " **Water shot: Warping strike!** " Lucy shouted as she let the arrow loose, the pale arrow transforming into a streak of water as it traveled through the air.

But Gray apparently anticipated her attack, as he had already started his preparations to use his maker magic. " **Ice Make: Bulwark!** " He shouted as a multilayered wall appeared in front of him. If Lucy needed any proof that the ice make mage was her team mate, this was it, as he clearly anticipated Lucy unleashing a powerful strike.

However, that wasn't what warping strike was, as right before the thin stream of water struck his shield Lucy directed the water to the right, her magic carrying the water to the right as it maneuvered around the barrier in order to strike its target.

Lucy smiled slightly, certain that she had scored a good hit against the ice-make mage, her smile fell away in shock as Gray vaulted over the barrier as he attempted to rush her, his shirt somehow having gone missing in the attack.

" **Ice make: Blade!** " Gray continued as a sharp spike of ice formed over his right hand. Clearly, he understood that his best chances for victory were to force Lucy into a melee.

But thankfully, Lucy's partner was just as on top of things as Gray was, as before the Ice make mage could even get close to closing the distance Lucy felt her body grow lighter and stronger. Without a second thought, Lucy leapt away from the ice make mage and quickly shot a glace over at the sky dragon slayer, Wendy sending a nod her way before Loke closed the distance with her, forcing the younger mage to dodge with everything she had.

 _Wendy won't last long in a fist fight, I need to end this fast!_ Lucy thought in a panic as she spun on her foot to avoid Gray's thrust and drew her bow back, launching three arrows in the span of a few seconds thanks to Wendy's enhancements.

But Gray was no slouch either, as he leapt away and managed to deflect two out of the three shots, the third landing in his shoulder and sending him skidding away before its momentum died. The blade of ice dissipating as the arrow disrupted Gray's magic

"Not bad Lucy, but we're just getting started! Lets she how long you can trade fire with this!" Gray shouted as he slammed his fist into his left hand. " **Ice Make: Artilery line!** " he continued as he slammed his palms into the ground, a row of cannons all pointed at the blonde forming as he did so.

Water wouldn't be useful against this, she needed something durable, strong, to fight off this kind of attack. So, without wasting a second, Lucy dismissed the water elemental and prepared her next summoning. "Spirit of earth, manifest and obey my will!" Lucy shouted as a ball of gently rotating rock appeared by her side.

And not a moment too soon, as Gray's cannons began to fire one after another right at her. but Lucy did not move to avoid them, instead standing tall and drawing her bowstring back yet again. Her eyes zeroed in on each and every ice ball hurtling her way, her arrows of earth already on their way to their targets by the time she had located the next.

And much to Lucy's relief, Gray wasn't able to manipulate his cannonballs midflight, as each and every one of her shots hit home, the trajectory of each shot thrown off enough to send them flying behind the elemental summoner harmlessly.

The two mages each regarded the other for a moment, each one attempting to determine their next course of action, but before they could move a violent gust blew though the cavern, followed shortly by a nearly blinding flash of light.

And despite knowing how risky it was to look away from a foe, Lucy couldn't help but quickly steal a glance at the other two combatants in the room. Wendy was on her back, her hands at her eyes as she rubbed them vigorously. Apparently having been blinded by one of Loke's attacks. The air above them was filled with dust swirling around in miniature twisters, likely from one of the sky maidens' attacks having gone wide. And Loke…Loke was sprinting right at her!

"I know that I'm quite pleasing to look at Princess, but this is hardly the time to be getting distracted!" The Light elemental berated as light gathered around his fists, Lucy brining up her bow to block his punch.

 _No choice! I wanted to save them for later, but I need a greater elemental to win this!_ Lucy decided as Wendy sent a sky dragon roar at Gray, the Ice mage having taken over for Loke in keeping the sky slayer occupied. Unfortunately, Lucy had no memories of working with Wendy, whether that was due to her lost time or because they hadn't in fact teamed up the blonde wasn't sure, and due to that they were unable to coordinate as well as the elemental summoner would have preferred. They needed the numerical advantage.

And what better elemental to use than the one who had come to her dreams a few nights ago proclaiming their loyalty and desire to fight on her behalf? "Oh thundering spirit of the heavens! Manifest your champion be-." Lucy started to chant but before she could finish she was forced to leap backwards as Loke swung his blade at her, a trail of light being left in its wake.

"I don't think so Princess, I'm not about to let you call out to a greater elemental!" The light elemental shouted as he focused his light into his blade, Lucy's heart sinking as she instinctively realized what was about to happen. " **Radiance of the Pure Dawn!** " He shouted, the light gathered around the blade erupting to the point where it was almost like the sun was suddenly in front of the blonde.

Thankfully, Lucy had managed to squeeze her eyes shut at the last second, the blinding light still searing her retinas but not blinding her to the degree that she couldn't at least make out the vauge outlines of her two opponents. She could see what she assumed was the outline of Gray making a mad dash in her direction, clearly considering her to be the bigger threat than the now blinded Wendy. While Loke had dismissed his sword and was also closing in on her.

Under normal circumstances, this would be the end for the elemental summoner, as without Dragon Lucy's aid she wouldn't be able to hold off two opponents in close combat…but thankfully, while she hadn't managed to fully open the way to the plane of thunder enough to allow a greater elemental though, it was more than enough for a lesser elemental to enter their world.

So summon a lesser elemental she did, the thunder spirit appearing as a hovering ball of plasma right in front of her. the two male members of their guild hesitating slightly at the sight of an unknown, a hesitation she did not share. Leaping backwards, the blonde commanded the lighting elemental to release its energies in a burst of electricity. With the two of them paralyzed, at least for the moment, Lucy brought her bow up intending to unleash a barrage of arrows at her foes.

Only to have Loke slam his shoulder into her and send her careening into a nearby stalagmite and for Gray to freeze her in place during the time she was too stunned to act.

"Wha…h-how…?" Lucy couldn't help but mutter in shock as her vision finally returned, the Weave working overtime to repair the damage.

"Sorry Lucy, but it looks like you forgot to consider that I'm not actually human. I don't have the nerves to paralyze." Loke explained as he stood a few feet away from the now frozen blonde, a smile on his face despite the fact that he was still tensed and ready for combat.

"Well good for you buddy, meanwhile I still can't feel my limbs." Gray complained as he retrieved his discarded shirt and grinned smugly at Lucy. "Well Lucy? I think we can call this fight about now, don't you?"

Lucy couldn't help but scowl at that, knowing full well that the ice make mage was likely correct, even if it didn't sit well with her. Even if she tried to summon a fire elemental to free herself neither mage would give her the chance to make a move. They would knock her out the second she tried to act. Wendy wasn't fortunate enough to realize what Loke had intended to do and was once again rubbing her eyes.

There was no way out of this situation without Lucy falling back on her old training, something she was absolutely certain the old her would not do.  _I'm sorry Cana, but hopefully Tiria is enough to get you though this trial._ Lucy couldn't help but apologize as she sighed heavily and nodded.

"Unn, I surrender." Lucy relented, the metal grate blocking the path forward slowly rising in response to her words.

Gray and Loke shared a high-five before the ice make mage removed her bindings. "Well, it was a good fight. Hell of a way to get this whole thing started. You two remember where the meeting area for the disqualified mages is?"

"Mmm, slightly to the north of the caves in the forest, right? We shouldn't have any trouble finding it." Lucy returned as she ceased pouring energy into Lemegeton, the ancient weapon returning to its inert form.

"Yep…well, cya later Lucy, Wendy! Next time we meet I'll be the newest S-class mage of Fairy Tail!" Gray bragged as he turned and casually made his way though the exit, Loke following him but pausing at the edge.

"Sorry Princess, Wendy. I'll make it up to you after this is all over, that's a promise." And with that, the two girls were left alone in the sea-side cave.

They were both silent for a time, the only sound being the gentle rolling waves in the distance, but eventually Lucy picked up on the sound of quiet sobs echoing though the cavern, a noise that wasn't emanating from her own throat.

"Wendy? Are you ok?" The blonde couldn't help but ask as she walked over to the still kneeling bluenette, Wendy's head still hung in defeat.

"I…I-I'm so sorry Lucy…I failed you!" Wendy cried out as her shoulders began to shake with the force of her sobs.

But for the life of her, the blonde elemental mage couldn't understand what was happening. "Eh?" She couldn't help but mutter dumbly.

"I-If I had been stronger, or faster, or smarter, we could have won. B-but I was useless! I couldn't even hit Gray with my breath a-and never even saw Loke! I-I didn't help at all!" The sky dragon slayer continued to cry.

 _Well…she's not wrong._ Lucy couldn't help but consider as she crossed her arms and stared up at the cave's ceiling. If either of them had been stronger then they could have simply steamrolled over the unsuspecting mages. But as far as Lucy could tell, the main factor that contributed to their defeat was… "Your wrong Wendy. You were more than strong enough for us to win that battle. We just don't know each other well enough to win."

"…Eh?" It was Wendy's turn to be confused, the blunette finally looking up to stare wide eyed at the now self-conscious blonde, Lucy scratching her cheek as she continued to look up at the ceiling.

"There were a multitude of factors that contributed to our defeat. My inability to fight at close range, our enemy's knowledge of our skills, the fact that both our opponents specialized in melee combat, but by far the biggest factor was how well in sync Gray and Loke were. They each knew exactly what the other intended to do without verbal clues. And that coordination was simply too much for either of us to handle."

"B-but we trained together too! We spent that whole week preparing for this!" Wendy countered, Lucy nodding in agreement to her words.

"True, but remember Loke apparently promised to help Gray a long time ago. I can only assume that they've worked together for at least a year or more." Lucy theorized, the blonde feeling a slight bit of curiosity at how exactly the two men had gotten to know each other so well but putting the question in the back of her mind for now. "After all, we didn't even get the chance to do any of our coordinated attacks right? They simply controlled the flow of battle the entire time."

Lucy finally looked back down and sighed. "In the end, we just weren't that lucky."

The cave fell into silence at that, Wendy looking back down with a somewhat frustrated expression on her face. Not that Lucy wasn't feeling her own sense of annoyance with the end result. They were both raised by dragon's after all, and dragons very rarely took defeat well.

"Though, thankfully, our major disadvantage is one easily fixed." Lucy continued, Wendy's head snapping up to stare at her in confusion. "WE simply need to go on more missions together before next year's trial."

"N-next year!? Y-you mean…you'd actually ask me to help again next time?"

"Of course, you are one of the best partners I could ask for." Lucy replied as she narrowed her eyes and leaned down to stare Wendy eye to eye. "Don't tell me you already forgot what I said on the boat. I wasn't simply trying to placate you, I meant everything I said. You just need to have faith in yourself, just like all of us have faith in you."

It was then, without any warning, that Lucy found herself on the receiving end of a nearly bone crushing hug courtesy of the diminutive dragon slayer, Wendy somehow launching herself from a kneeling position into the blonde's chest.

"Thank you, Lucy! You're the best!" The littler slayer shouted out as she smiled up at the blonde, Lucy smiling slightly as she patted the bluenette on the head.

"Your welcome. Now then, we should probably head to the meeting area now. From what I understand of Erza, she isn't going to look on us favorably if we delay too long.

"Unn!" Wendy replied as they started to make their way back the way they came.

It was frustrating, having lost on the first round when she had sworn to aid Cana in her goal of passing the test…but there was simply nothing she could do. She had underestimated her opponents and had tried to conserve energy, facts that Gray had easily taken advantage of.

 _Well, I may be out, but at least Wendy and I can enjoy the scenery while we wait for the trial to finish._ Lucy eventually decided, not wanting to linger on her failure for too long. They were on a tropical island that was considered sacred to their guild after all, surely there was something they could do to entertain themselves while the others continued on with the trial. Right?


	30. Chapter 30

"Hoh? Now this is a surprise." Erza muttered, almost to herself, as Lucy and Wendy approached. "Of all the participants I thought might be eliminated in the first part of the exam, I never expected you two to be amongst them. Who exactly did you go up against that forced your withdrawal?"

"Gray and Loke." Lucy answered easily as she took a seat at the picnic table that someone had put up, the blonde mage only pausing for a second as she considered who exactly could have created furniture this far away from civilization.  _Although, now that I consider it, considering the size of Ms. Sca- Erza's luggage, it's entirely possible she had one with her._ "They used close range tactics to force us into a melee and pressured us until we were backed into a corner so I conceded the fight."

"I see…well, don't feel too down Lucy, there's nothing wrong with loosing your first S-class trial." Erza comforted before retuning to the grill, the smell of cooking meat making even the stalwart elemental mage feel hungry.

But her thoughts were turned away from food when she hear a very quiet whine beside her "Unn…if I was just a bit stronger them maybe…" Wendy murmured sadly as she stared down at her hands.

Lucy fought off a sigh as she placed a hand on the younger slayer's head, startling the girl out of whatever thoughts were clouding her mind. "Wendy, we talked about this already and I'm not going to repeat myself. No more of those kinds of thoughts ok?"

"O-ok…sorry."

"And no more apologizing." Lucy finished as she turned back and looked over at another tent that had been set up, a tent that held two other participants of the trials. "Erza? What happened to Juvia and Lisanna? They look pretty injured." Lucy asked as she observed the two mages wrapping bandages around their arms, their faces a mixture of pain and exhaustion.  _Good, Cana and Tiria aren't here. Which means that they are either still fighting, or that they managed to pass the first trial. Now I just need to find out anything I can_

"Ah, they chose their path poorly and ended up fighting me." The red-head answered simply, both Lucy and Wendy flinching at the thought of having to go up against the requip mage. "They lack sufficient training as well, something both they and you two will have to remedy when we return to Fairy Tail."

"A-ah…has anyone else dropped out yet?" Lucy eventually asked, the blonde ignoring both her own unease and Wendy's fearful murmurs at the thought of the red-head training them.

"As of now no, but I imagine that whoever was unfortunate enough to find Mirajane will soon join us. Not even mentioning the Gildarts team." Erza answered before tossing both dragon slayers aprons. "But enough of your questions, we have food to prepare so you two will be helping!" The S-class mage ordered as she brandished her ladle at the two of them, both mages jumping to attention at the shear intimidation of it all.

"Yes ma'am!" The two girls shouted as they leapt forward to obey, neither mage willing to test Erza's patience.

The cooking was going as well as it could, at least as far as Lucy was concerned, and they were even joined by Lisanna and Juvia after the two mages had finished treating their wounds. But it wasn't long until the peaceful atmosphere was shattered by the air itself trying to crush them.

"Wha…this pressure…magical energy?" Lucy thought out loud as the very ground beneath them began to shake from the sheer force of ethernano being released.

Someone out there was releasing an immense amount of magic, enough that the blonde mage nearly lost control of her higher functions as Dragon Lucy attempted to seize control. The subconscious part of her mind interpreting the massive energy signature as an incoming attack.

"This is a surprise, to think that he'd get this serious." Erza muttered, almost to herself, as she gazed back in the direction of the caves.

"M-Ms. Erza, d-do you know who this magic belongs to?" Juvia questioned as she braced herself, her legs nearly giving out due to her already weakened state and the shear amount of energy pressing down on them.

"It's Gildarts." The red-head answered easily as a flock of strange birds flew past in a panic, the animal life in the area clearly disturbed by the unreal magnitude of magic coursing around the island.

"Indeed. It appears that whomever his opponent is, they forced them to actually release his magic." The requip mage answered as the magic power vanished into the air, so quickly in fact that it almost seemed like it had been nothing more than a figment of their imagination. "At least for a moment it seems. Hopefully he refrained from doing any permanent damage to whomever he was fighting."

"A-ah…"  _Thank the gods Wendy and I weren't the ones to end up on that path._ Lucy couldn't help but think as Lisanna made a hissing noise.

"Ouch. I'd hate to be the team who ended up going up against him…my Jewels are on it was Natsu." The white-haired mage commented, Juvia nodding without a second thought.

"Indeed, Juvia agrees that Natsu appears to be the most likely candidate…Juvia is just glad that her precious Gray has already passed!" The water mage agreed before sneering at Lucy, not that the blonde mage noticed or understood the meaning behind.

The four mages continued to stare at the cliffs where the first trial was located for a few more seconds, each one waiting in anticipation even if they weren't sure what they were waiting for, but the moment passed when Erza tapped her ladle against the pot, drawing their gazes to the red-haired mage. "Now then, enough lolly-gaging! We have food to prepare and by the looks of it a new group of mages will be joining us momentarily."

The group of mages retuned to their tasks, the conversations dying out as they focused on their tasks, at least that was the case until Mira walked up to the camp, the bandage on her upper arm and her cheek. A smile on her face despite her injured appearance. But the most shocking aspect wasn't the fact that one of Fairy Tail's S-class mages had been injured, but rather that the She-devil was showing up on her own.

"Now way sis, you lost? How? And to who?" Lisanna shouted in shock as she leapt from her spot on the cooking line to check on her sister. The older Strauss sibling giggling as she put a hand to her uninjured cheek.

"Ahah…well, I fought against Elfman and Evergreen." The white-haired barmaid announced, nearly everyone present crying out in shock with the exception of Lucy, who took a moment to try and recall how strong exactly the two aforementioned mages were, though she could assume just based off of the reactions of the others that they weren't considered strong enough to have beaten the Take-over mage.

"Impressive. To think those two have grown so strong…I didn't expect this of them." Ezra commented with a pleased look on her face.

But Mira quickly shook her head in denial. "Well, it wasn't so much that they beat me. They just took advantage of me when I was distracted to get a few good hits in."

"Eh? How'd they manage that sis?" Lisanna asked in genuine curiosity, Mira smiling down at her sister in response.

"Evergreen said they were getting married." The barmaid announced, an even bigger cry of surprise bouncing around the campsite.

"Wh-what?! Wh-when did the two of them start dating? When's the wedding? H-how far along is Evergreen?" Erza blurted out, a massive blush covering her cheeks as Mira took a seat at the table.

"Oh no, it wasn't serious Erza. They just said it as a way to throw me off guard…probably."

"Ehh? How do you know it was just a lie sis?" Lisanna questioned as she too took a seat, thoughts of prepping the meal long gone in light of far more interesting gossip.

"Well, I just can't imagine the two of them getting together." Mira answered as she placed a figure on her chin in thought. "I mean, if they really did get married and had a kid it would probably…" but whatever thought the take over mage had was apparently too terrifying to continue on, as the white-haired mage shuddered violently.

"Now, now. It's not our place to stand in the way of true love. And besides, I can't help but feel like their child will be quite cute." Erza nodded sagely as she returned to her cooking duties.

"Big brother Elf and Evergreen huh…I could definitely see that. They're kinda alike when you think about it." Lisanna commented, almost to herself, as Juvia stared down at the ground with a furious blush on her face.

"K-K-kids…with Gray…" The water mage muttered, Wendy's face almost matching her fellow bluenette's coloring.

"Awha…s-such an adult topic." The sky dragon slayer shyly commented as she looked up at the older slayer. "What do you think Lucy? Do you think Ms. Evergreen and Mr. Elfman are…?" but she trailed off when she saw the state her partner was in.

Lucy, for her part, had heard very little of the previous conversation. Her own cheeks heating up when Mira mentioned marriage. For some reason, at the mere mention of joining two lives together in such a way, her mind immediately jumped to Natsu. A jump in logic that just didn't make sense to her. But more confusing than that was the sudden tightness in her chest, the increase in heart rate, the blood gathering in her face.  _Is this some kind of sickness? One with a mental component? Or is this perhaps…some memories returning? But that really doesn't add up, I highly doubt the conversation of marriage has ever come up before…so what is this?_

"…Lucy?" Wendy repeated, finally startling the older blonde out of her thoughts.

"Eh? Ah, sorry Wendy. What were you saying?" Lucy asked, but instead of actually repeating herself the young blue haired girl simply smiled brightly up at her.

"Eh he, don't worry Lucy. I'm rooting for you!" The younger mage announced before skipping off to where Lisanna and her sister were currently working on preparing yet another pot of soup, leaving a confused blonde standing off by herself.

"Ah, but now that I think about it, what happened to Gildarts and the team he went up against? Shouldn't they be back by now?" Lisanna asked, drawing the attention away from marriage and into something that Lucy could at least wrap her head around.

"Ah, don't worry about him. He decided to head back to the guild with Freed and Bickslow on the boat we S-class mages used to get here." Mira answered easily.

"Freed and Bickslow lost? Who'd they go up against?" The younger Strauss continued.

"Why Cana and Tiria of course." Mira replied, Lucy nodding at the news.

_So, Cana got though the first round, good. I knew that leaving it to Tiria was a good idea._ Lucy thought as Erza hummed quietly.

"Then if those two teams went up against each other…that means that it was Natsu who went up against Gildarts." The scarlet haired mage postulated.

"Wow, so Natsu's good enough to go up against Gildarts now? He's certainly improved since I was gone."

"Yes! Mr. Natsu really is strong!" Wendy confirmed, more than happy to talk about one of the slayers she looked up to the most. "He fought really hard to save my old guild right before we went to Edolas!"

"Oh? I didn't hear about that. What guild was that?" Lisanna asked in genuine curiosity. The younger mage beaming at the thought of her old home.

"It was Cait Shelter! We were kinda small, but it was a fun place to be! We were a part of the light guild alliance who went up against Or-." Wendy started to explain before stopping suddenly to sniff the air experimentally. The sudden pause drawing the attention of the gathered women.

"Wendy? Something wrong?" Erza asked as she put down her ladle, her combat instincts kicking into high gear at the sudden action.

But Wendy didn't answer immediately, instead continuing to sniff as a worried frown formed on her lips. "That smell…L-Lucy! Do you smell that?" The younger slayer half shouted.

Lucy for her part hadn't detected anything abnormal at that point, but at the worried look Wendy was sending her way Dragon Lucy activated, her senses stretching to the absolute limits that her seal would allow…and then she finally did smell it. A faint, almost unnoticeable metallic scent that was growing stronger with each passing second.

"…Yes I do." Lucy confirmed, Wendy's face falling as the others leapt to their feet.

"What? What's going on you two?" Erza demanded, Lucy turning a cold, combative look on the older mage.

"There's a scent of blood in the air, and it's getting closer." Lucy announced grimly just as the ground shook from a massive impact. The type of impact that couldn't belong to anything but a powerful spell going off.

Without a moment's hesitation Erza requiped from her bathing suit into her armor, a sword in her hand as she turned to the other S-class mage present. "Mira, you and the others will secure this site. I will go and investigate the source of the blood."

"Juvia will accompany you. It isn't a good idea to travel alone right now." The water mage announced, Erza hesitating for a second before nodding in confirmation.

"Understood. Wendy, Lucy, what direction is the smell coming from?"

"The north!" Wendy answered immediately, Lucy nodding along with her.

"I can only faintly detect it. But yes, it does seem to be to our north."

"Understood. Everyone, be ready for anything!" Erza commanded. And with that, the two mages rushed off in the direction Wendy indicated.

"Alright then. Lisanna? Will you give me a hand getting the medical supplies ready? If someone's injured we may have to treat them." Mira calmly asked, the younger Strauss nodding without a moment's hesitation.

"Alright Sis."

"I'll help too! I have my healing magic." Wendy added as she jumped to join the sisters, only to stop when Mira shook her head.

"Thank you, Wendy, but I want you and Lucy to watch for any change in our surroundings or the scent. Plus, we don't want to exhaust you before we know just how many wounded there are. Plus, you and Lucy have the best senses out of us, so we need you to warn us if someone's approaching." The white-haired mage calmly refuted, Wendy hesitating for just a moment before nodding.

"Ok! I can do this!" The bluenette half-shouted as she pumped her fists, almost talking to herself, as Lucy drew Lemegeton and nodded sharply to Mira, the she-devil returning the gesture as the two sisters ducked into one of the tents. Leaving the two slayers standing in the center of the camp.

They were silent for a while, Wendy being too nervous to find her voice while Lucy focused on watching her surroundings. But eventually the sky dragon slayer couldn't keep her thoughts to herself, turning to the older slayer with a worried look. "U-Um…Lucy? Why do you think this is happening? Why would someone attack us?"

"I don't know Wendy." The blonde elemental mage answered, not taking her eyes off of the surrounding trees. "It may be that someone stumbled on the island and got involved in the trials, or maybe a dark guild is targeting us." Lucy thought out loud as she heard a twig snap off in the distance, the blonde drawing a pale white arrow in preparation. "Regardless, it doesn't matter why. It just matters what we do in response. And I for one don't intend to let them go that easily." The blonde declared coldly, Wendy looking up at the older slayer with a mixture of respect and fear on her face.

"W-wow Lucy…you're a lot meaner now than you used to be." The sky dragon slayer muttered, almost to herself, causing the blonde to flinch slightly and scratch her cheek in embarrassment.

"R-really? Unn…I'm just basing my response on what Natsu would say in this kind of situation…but…maybe it's a little much?"

"Y-yes…I think talking like that really only works for Natsu?" Wendy commented nervously as she scratched her cheek.

"Nnn…maybe I should have added a bit about-." Lucy started to add, to her words died when both slayers picked up on a sound that neither had ever heard before. A low-pitched, almost screeching sound, that was echoing though their surroundings to the point where it covered up the natural noises.

Lucy immediately dropped to a knee as she drew her bowstring back and scanned the surrounding trees, but nothing immediately jumped out at her as being out of place. Mira and Lisanna, apparently having heard the noise as well, leapt out of the tent ready for combat but even still no enemies showed themselves.

_No one around the camp…no vibrations under my feet so it can't be underground…then above!_ Lucy realized as her head snapped backwards and her eyes narrowed against the glare. Sure enough, high up beyond even the highest point of the second island above them, an object was slowly but surely making its way across the sky. Even with her enhanced eyesight Lucy could just barely make out the shape of a human attached to some sort of machine, a device that was likely causing the racket assaulting their ears, releasing some sort of orange orbs en-masse.

"Above!" Lucy shouted in warning as she brought her bow to bear, the others all turning their attention to the sky as well.

"What's that?" Lisanna couldn't help but question, only Wendy answering due to her own impressive eyesight.

"…A goat? Di-did anyone else see a goat?" She murmured, almost to herself, as the figure in the sky vanished behind the tree line.

But Lucy didn't respond, her eyes instead drawn to the strange orange orbs that the figure had dropped. They were…odd, about the size of marbles, emanating magic, and containing something, the blonde had never encountered. And it was because she was watching the strange spheres so intently that she had the realization first, a realization that filled the pit of her stomach with dread.

The orbs were each holding an individual, individuals who appeared to be armed to the teeth each wearing a mask with a strange symbol upon them. And one of those orbs was only about ten feet above Wendy's head

"Enemy attack!" Lucy shouted as she loosed an arrow at the closest orb, the pale arrow sending the sphere flying off to the side and shattering, revealing the purple clothed man held within. The arrow had struck him in his left arm, the arm that was holding a particularly jagged sword, causing him to drop the deadly weapon.

Everything seemed to freeze for a brief second, the surprised expressions on Wendy's and Lisanna's faces and Mira's battle-hardened gaze seemingly frozen in time. But then, almost as if the man falling to the ground shattered the spell, every single one of the orange globes exploded to reveal the legion of dark mages hidden within. The newly arrived enemies screamed their battle cries as they brandished their weapons, not that anyone present was going to give them the chance to use them.

* * *

Azuma stared down passively at the battle occurring beneath the tree he was currently fused with. He felt nothing for his fellow guildmates currently being systematically slaughtered, their presence only confirming that the main force had finally arrived. His own task had been going smoothly, his magic slowly beginning to integrate with the natural energies of the land…but he was still unsatisfied.

Master Hades had ordered him to defeat any members of the Fairy Tail guild he came across, but he simply could not work up the motivation to join his fellow followers of Zeref in battle. Four injured women? And one of which was a child? What satisfaction could he possibly get from facing such weaklings?

The user of Great Tree Arc was about to move away, intending to find an opponent that was worthy of his time, but paused when his eyes fell upon the blonde mage currently firing arrows at the rank and file. He recognized her of course, she was the one becoming known as the Elvish Sniper, a mage of average strength who was a member of Fairy Tail, but it wasn't her skill with her bow that had drawn his attention.

The silver armband on her wrist…Master Hades had made mention about a magical artifact that matched its description. A relic of a king, of Solomon.

The realization hit him with near physical force, a battle-lust filled smile covering his lips as his magical energy began to grow. It appeared that he had been a tad bit hasty in his earlier judgment. There was indeed a fight worth having here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With this chapter, you have now caught up with where i currently writing. And as such future releases will slow down considerably, as i don't have quite the time to write fan fiction as i used too. Until next time!


	31. Solomon's Child

Lucy couldn't help but plant her hands on her knees as she fought to get her breathing under control, the sweat pouring down her head occasionally blinding her as it fell from her eyelashes. The attackers, while individually not very powerful, were numerable, and fighting them off had been far more of a challenge than Lucy had expected.  _Dodge an attack, move away, counter-attack. Make use of Wendy's enchantment while it lasts. Attack yet again. Avoid being caught in the crossfire between Mira and her opponents. Coordinate with Lisanna to deal with a particularly troublesome opponent. Ignore the pain in her side from a bad hit._ It had been absolute chaos, and if it weren't for Dragon Lucy's ability to process battlefield stimuli faster than Lucy herself, she was certain she would have fared far worse.

"Is everyone alright? Wendy? Lucy?" Mira called out as she released her magic and rushed to her sisters' side, the other white-haired mage having fallen to her knees in exhaustion.

"I'm fine. Wendy?" Lucy called out as she gingerly began to check her side, the blonde mage praying silently that she hadn't broken any ribs in the chaos. She could hardly afford to waste any magic on the Weave if there were still enemies nearby.

"Y-Yes! I'm ok. But you're not Lucy." Wendy answered as she rushed over and carefully inspected Lucy's ribs, the elemental summoner sucking in a pained breath when the younger mage accidentally touched her wound. "They're defiantly bruised, if not broken. I need to heal this."

"…Understood, but don't heal it fully Wendy. You need to conserve your Ethernano for the others. Considering how strong our opponents are, it's likely the others are going to be injured too." Lucy conceded, having determined that yes, her damaged ribs would be a hindrance in the coming battles.

"Ok! Now please sit still." Wendy agreed after a second before turning her attention to Lucy's stomach, her hands glowing with a green light as she placed them on her side. The pain almost instantly lessening as the magic took effect.

It was then that Lisanna approached, the younger white-haired girl looking more than a little anxious.

"Mira's making sure that the unconscious mages are secured…" The animal soul mage announced as she gazed around at the devastation their small camp had endured. "…This is awful. Wh-why is this happening?" She asked, almost to herself, her question mirroring the one Wendy had asked only minutes ago.

But this time Lucy had an answer to give, not that the answer would give her any comfort. "I heard one of the attackers shout out "For Lord Zeref!" When they landed, so it appears that for whatever reason they believe the dark mage is here." The blonde-haired mage announced as she scanned the tree line. There had been something there during their fight, a…presence she couldn't quite pin down. But it had vanished during the chaos of their brawl. Was it an enemy? And if so, why hadn't they come out yet? Was it just a scouting party? Regardless, Lucy didn't want to draw attention to it until necessary, in order to allow the others more time to recover.

"Z-Zeref?! As in the dark mage Zeref?!" Lisanna shouted out, Lucy nodding her head in confirmation.

"I doubt it would be any other Zeref."

"But…He's dead! Has been for like four hundred years! Why would they come to our guilds sacred land to look for a dead dark mage?" Lisanna shouted out as Mira returned to the group, the older Strauss sibling looking grim at the mention of the father of all dark magic.

"I don't know. While I was in the institute, I was trained to fight against Zeref's demons, but Jude Heartfilia never made mention of the mage who created them so I don't have any information on him." Lucy admitted before holding up a mask that had been on one of the many attackers they had just fought off. "But look at this, this symbol here on their masks is the same symbol that the dark guild Grimoire Heart uses. So, we at least know who is attacking us now."

Both Wendy and Lisanna paled at the mention of one of the members of the Balam Alliance. Wendy couldn't help but think back to their battles against the Oración Seis and the losses they nearly suffered back then. And now they were going up against yet another member? What kind of losses would they take this time? And that thought alone sent a chill up the youngest slayer's spine.

"…Impressive young mage. There are few in this world who would recognize our guilds symbol so quickly. It seems my instincts were correct." A new, deep voice called out from within the trees, the four Fairy Tail mages present all falling into a battle stance at the unknown person.

"…So, I was right. There really was another person in the trees waiting for us to run out of magic." Lucy whispered, almost to herself, as she quickly scanned the forest once again for their unknown foe. However, no matter where she looked, she couldn't detect anything out of the ordinary.

Not that that stopped the unknown mage from answering her. "I apologize for not showing myself before, as I had no intention of joining in this fight. However…" The voice continued as, much to the shock of all gathered, one of the trees began to grow horizontally, the new growth eventually taking the shape of a man. "I could not pass up the opportunity to test myself against the greatest creation of the Heartfilia institute."

The Fairy Tail members all sucked in a startled breath at the man's knowledge, all except for Lucy, who narrowed her eyes as she took aim at the newcomer. "You know me?"

"I do. Subject One, Lucy of Fairy Tail, The Elvish Sniper. You have been known by many names girl, and as a warrior, I couldn't pass up the chance to test the full extent of your might." The man declared as he gazed down at them with his arms crossed…not that his lack of a stance made him any less intimidating.

Lucy could tell just from looking at him that they were outmatched. Even in her sealed state, the sheer quantity of Ethernano that she could detect within him was staggering. Already weakened as they were, what chance did they have?

But Wendy and Lisanna seemed oblivious to her observations, the two mages both preparing for battle. "You jerks are messing with the wrong family! Fairy Tail's not going to lose to a bunch of jerks like you!" Lisanna announced as her body transformed into a giant rabbit.

Lucy turned her gaze away from the man just for a moment to look to Mira, the blonde mage finding the S-class mage also looking at her with a tense, worried look. It looked like the older mage had worked out the difference in strength as well.

"…Wendy. You need to stay back. Don't draw any attention to yourself. Understand?" Lucy ordered in a no-nonsense tone of voice, the younger mage looking at her in surprise for a moment before nodding in comprehension. She needed to stay at as much strength as she could, as she was the one who would keep them alive if things didn't go as planned.  _I may not have summoned a greater elemental of their kind before, and I may not remember finding their lacrima, but I can't afford to pull any punches here._ Lucy thought grimly as she focused upon the yellow lacrima in her bracer. "…Oh, thundering heavens, manifest your champion before me! Come forth, elemental of lightning!" Lucy chanted, the sky above them darkening for a brief second before a bolt of thunder struck the ground between the Fairy Tail mages and the yet unidentified dark mage, momentarily blinding all gathered. But when their eyesight returned, they were greeted with the sight of a new person standing in the camp. The woman was covered in a combination of chain mail and furs that gave her an almost feral look. She was tall, far taller than anyone else present by a good foot, and carried a massive War hammer in one of her impressively toned arms.

"Ha! I was wondering when you would finally call out to us for aid little one! And to give me such an impressive looking foe on our first meeting, you truly are a worthy successor to that fool!" the woman announced as she hefted her hammer with ease and pointed it at the mage, the end of the weapon crackling with unrestrained energy.

"I'm sorry about the importunes of this summoning, but I need your help. will y-." Lucy started to request, making sure to sound as respectful as possible, but was interrupted by a loud scoff coming from the thunder elemental.

"Enough with the pleasantries Little One, we can bother with that when your enemy is dead. I am a greater Elemental of Thunder, Dian-Mu! Those who oppose my Master shall fall to my hammer!"

"…Good…Very good Women of Fairy Tail!" The man shouted as he uncrossed his hands and took a stance, a crazed, almost feral look in his eyes. "Give me a fight like no other! I am Azuma of Grimoire Heart, member of the Seven Kin of Purgatory! Come!" He shouted as he rushed forward, his hands outstretched. " **Bleve!** "

With almost no warning, the air in front of the five women began to glow faintly before a series of miniature explosions shook the atmosphere. Even Lucy, with her other half having far greater reaction times than most, could only barely get out of the way before the attack hit, the Elemental summoner escaping most of the blast with only the barest of injuries.

Dian on the other hand simply laughed as she rushed though the mid-air detonations. "Stop trying to tickle me human! I'm in no mood for games!" She shouted as she brandished her weapon and swung with reckless abandon. Unfortunately, Azuma seemed to have just as good of instincts as Dragon Lucy, as he quickly leapt away just before the Thunder Spirit's hammer hit the earth. And it appeared that his instincts were correct, as the moment the hammer hit the ground a blot of thunder arched down from the heavens, leaving a small crater in its wake. "Damn you, don't dodge! It ruins the fun if I can't hit you!"

_This new elemental is somewhat…intense._ Lucy couldn't help but think as she readied an arrow, Mira and Lisanna both rushing in having transformed to engage the powerful mage in combat. For her part, the elemental mage leapt into a nearby tree, drew her arrow back, and waited. While she didn't hear Wendy cast her enhancement, Lucy did notice the exact moment the sky slayer's magic took effect to release her arrow. " **Thunder strike: debilitating arcs!** " She muttered under her breath as she released her arrow.

Unfortunately, despite dealing with two mages and an elemental in close combat, the member of the Seven Kin still somehow noticed her attack, the tanned man simply waving his hand causing a root to burst from the ground and intercept her ethereal arrow.

_So, he uses some form of tree magic then. That's not good, considering how much of the island is covered in forests._ Lucy grimly thought as she leapt away from her perch, and not a moment too soon, as not a second later the strange, miniature explosions demolished the branch she had been on.  _No, wait. He's not just manipulating large plants. The only thing that could detonate like that around me would have been small seeds or perhaps pollen. It has to be…_

"Everyone! He's using some sort of nature magic to control and detonate plant life! Watch your footing!" Lucy shouted as she sprinted around the outside of the fight, the blonde firing arrows into the melee all the while.

Not that any of them hit their intended target, Azuma smiling broadly as he kicked Lisanna away. "As expected of the Heartfilia's greatest creation. Indeed, I wield the lost magic Great Tree Arc. All of Nature is my weapon." He explained as he extended a hand, the roots underneath Mira and Dian exploding from the ground to entangle around the limbs of the two women. " **Tower Burst!** " He chanted, the roost entailing the two women exploding a second later into a tower of flame much like the spell claimed, the two women being thrown from the fire a moment later. Mira's Satan Soul dispelling from the damage while Dian simply looked annoyed, thin wisps of smoke trailing off her furs from the fire.

"H-he's strong…and there's supposed to be another six mages just like him here?" Lisanna stuttered, the younger Strauss sibling staking a step back in fear as Azuma emerged from the smoke and flames.

"…Indeed, I was sent here by Master Hades before the others. But by now the rest of my guild has surely infiltrated the island. There is no hope for you mages of Fairy Tail. But if you provide me with the battle I have longed for, I will spare you for a time." Azuma continued as he stared directly into Lucy's eyes, the fire held within causing the blonde Elemental mage to suck in a startled breath.

_…I can't afford to fight like this anymore._ Lucy decided as she put away Lemegeton and closed her eyes in concentration. It was clear that she herself couldn't fight this man…but maybe Dragon Lucy could.

_"Order confirmed: Primary consciousness has abjugated control…seizing control of motor functions…successful. Warning: Primary Magic unavailable…prioritizing secondary magic…Warning: aggressive mage detected marking target as primary threat. Preparing countermeasures…countermeasures generated…executing Unison Raid."_ Dragon Lucy thought, all in the span of a few seconds, as her subconscious defender opened Lucy's eyes to glare at the dark mage. The other mages of Fairy Tail couldn't help but recoil slightly at the sheer killing intent coming off the normally strange and quiet mage, Mira in particular gasping as she covered her mouth. She knew what this was, Erza had mentioned this part of Lucy after the events at the Tower of Heaven. "Lucy…" She called out in worry but the blonde failed to respond, as her attention was solely focused on her opponent.

An opponent who's smile only grew wider at the cold look in Lucy's eyes, a hearty laugh escaping from his lips. "Yes! This is it!" He shouted as he pointed his palm in Lucy's direction. " **Folium Sica!** " He shouted, the leaves from the nearby trees ripping away from their stems to rush at the blonde mage.

"Attack detected. Taking evasive action." Lucy muttered emotionlessly, Dragon Lucy already moving out of the way of the deluge of leaves before they got within a few feet of her. the former mage assassin sprinted forward, low to the ground, as she closed the gap between herself and her target. Within the span of a heartbeat, Dragon Lucy arrived in front of her target and attempted to sweep the man's legs out from under him, intending to disable her opponent before going in for the kill, but to its surprise the man actually reacted fast enough to avoid her attack and to attempt one of his own, the man lifting his leg and trying to drop it on its head.

But Dragon Lucy was more than prepared for his attack. Faster than any normal mage to react, the blonde infused her body with the energy of her Elemental, her hairs beginning to stand on end while sparks jumped between her fingers and with that same speed intercepted the mans kick with her arm. Dragon Lucy immediately catalogued the slight crack in her left Ulna and Radius but at the same time noted the inadvertent twitch that passed over her targets features before he pulled back for a moment only to rush back in, a root attempting to wrap around Dragon Lucy's ankle as he rushed back in.

"S-So fast…I didn't know that Lucy could move like this. Did you know she could do this sis?" Dragon Lucy vaguely heard one of the non-targets mutter somewhere behind her.

"…Yeah, I've seen her like this before…Damn it, if only I still had enough magic to help." Another voice cursed, Dragon Lucy identifying the inflection in the woman's voice as 'sorrow' "Elemental, I know you are injured as well, but can't you help her fight?"

"I would if I could human. But my summoner there is performing a Unison Raid to make use of my magic. She's accelerated her reaction times and infused her body with thunder. So long as she's using my magic I'd be a fool to jump into such a battle without my power…even if I want nothing more than to join such an impressive battle." The elemental answered as Dragon Lucy unleashed a flurry of blows, each one blocked by her target.

The two combatants went back and forth with their attacks for a for a time, each one taking more and more damage as time went on. Dragon Lucy continued to make note of each internal trauma and bone stress while also recording all the damage it managed to inflict on its target…and because it knew how much damage each side was inflicting, that it was keenly aware that it would be the first to fall.

Dragon Lucy briefly considered activating the Weave in order to give it the advantage, but after considering the average amount of Ethernano it used up to heal injuries it would still end with defeat. Something drastic needed to change for Dragon Lucy to obtain victory for her primary consciousness, but the subconscious assassin was unable to determine just what that something was.

Unfortunately, due to being distracted by these thoughts that Dragon Lucy was unable to respond fast enough when a new root emerged from the ground to wrap around her left leg. Before the former assassin could even begin to formulate a way to remove the new growth, Azuma had already raised his palm with a cruel smile on his face. " **Chain Burst!** " He shouted, the root immediately exploding at his command.

The pain was both immense and immediate, forcing Dragon Lucy to cut off the nerve receptors to the limb as it leapt back to the group of non-targets.  _"Warning: immense damage to lower body. Recommend temporary withdraw from battle in order to repair damage."_ It warned, but Dragon Lucy could immediately feel the primary consciousness deny its advice.

_"No, we can't run. If we retreat, we'd be leaving the others to fight against him. I will take over from here."_ The primary consciousness ordered as it began to reassert its authority over their body.

_"Orders confirmed. Returning to general threat assessment."_ Dragon Lucy confirmed as it returned to the back of Lucy's consciousness, leaving the blonde staggering slightly as she returned to controlling her body all in the span of a few seconds, releasing her magic and

Azuma emerged from the explosion to glare at the group of Fairy Tail mages, his previous battle lust seemingly vanished into the smoke he had emerged from. "…I'm surprised, Subject One. You fight to kill me yet you refuse to use the power that once made your name feared by all dark guilds…Are you refusing to fight me with your full strength?" The dark mage questioned angrily.

"…This is the full strength of my magic." Lucy answered after a moment.

"You lie Fairy. I know that you have a stronger magic that you have hidden away. The power that made you feared as the 'mage slayer'…your dragon slayer magic." The older mage denied, Lucy's freezing slightly cold at the mention of her other magic.

Since she had managed to regain the memories prior to joining Fairy Tail, she knew about her chaos dragon slayer magic and the reason she had it sealed away. And while she may not be the exact same Lucy as the one before being recaptured by the institute, she still knew that she couldn't let that side of herself back out. "I can't use that magic anymore. I sealed it away." Lucy answered as she signaled Dian with her eyes for the elemental to try and flank the dark mage who was still focused solely on the Elemental summoner, the lightning elemental nodding slightly as she started to slowly move away.

"I see…then perhaps we must simply find a way to unseal this power of yours." Azuma announced as he pointed his palm in their direction. Lucy immediately tensed and whipped her head down to stare at the ground, ready to leap away the moment she saw the green of a root emerging from the ground. But instead she only heard cries of surprise from behind her.

Twisting around as fast as she could, Lucy's blood ran cold at the sight of Wendy and Lisanna both entangled by massive roots, a third series of roots having attempted to grab Mira but missing due to the S-class mage's superior senses. The green deathtraps had wrapped themselves tightly around each of the girl's limbs all the way up to their heads and were a good three times larger than anything Azuma had created before. Lucy immediately abandoned her pincher attack plan in favor of rushing over and attempting to rip away the massive tree roots, the blonde mage easily understanding just how much damage they would create if the dark mage detonated them.

"L-Lucy! I-I can't get out!" Wendy cried as Mira rushed over to help her sister.

"It's alright, I'll get you out." Lucy tried to comfort the younger mage despite the pit of ice in her stomach growing bigger with each passing second.

"You won't be able to remove those roots Subject One, and I would advise you to cease your pointless attempts to remove them or I may be tempted to detonate them immediately." Azuma warned as he lowered his arm, his face not changing in any way as he stared at the struggling mages. "In five minutes, I will detonate those roots and destroy everything held within…unless of course I fall before time expires." He explained as Lucy and Mira turned to glare at him. "You have no more time to worry about others. Now then, let us see the true depths of your magic!"

Lucy didn't hesitate as she turned and all but leapt at the mage. There was simply no time. "Dian!"

"Of course, Master!" Her elemental responded as she too rushed in. " **Thunderous Calamity!** " she shouted as she brought her hammer down, the amount of electrical energy coming of the weapon increasing exponentially. But the dark mage was prepared for such a blow, as he immediately created a barrier of roots to block her strike. Lucy drew Lemegeton as she moved as fast as she could into a melee. She couldn't afford to waste even a single second.

And she wasn't alone in her haste, as Mira flew by a second later having once again activated her Satan Soul magic and also joined in the fight. Mira attempted to slash at the dark mage with her demonic claws, but Azuma continued to block or dodge all her strikes.

It wasn't enough.

Azuma, having just blocked a particularly savage strike from Dian, turned to point both his palms at the elemental spirit, the ground beginning to rumble as the dark mages magic began to skyrocket. " **Tower Burst!** " He chanted, the ground beneath the elemental exploding into a tower of flame so tall it seemed to touch the very heavens themselves. Lucy almost immediately feeling the Elemental being forced back to the plane of thunder.

They weren't enough.

" **Evil Explosion!** " Mira chanted as an incredible amount of dark magic rushed from her palms to strike at the Grimoire Heart mage, so much so that the world was temporarily shrouded in darkness. But when the dust settled and the shadows cleared, both mages couldn't help but despair at the sight of Azuma having defended against the blast with a wall of roots. Mira attempted to take a step forward, only for her transformation to fail, leaving the silver haired barmaid sprawled out on the ground helpless.

They weren't strong enough.

Lucy rushed forward once again, as she knew that if she didn't Azuma would only target the others again. She attempted to release arrows in close range, the blonde having long ago started to aim for his vitals, but the man was frustratingly fast. He continued to block or dodge nearly all of her strikes, only taking one bad blow to his stomach despite the fury with which Lucy attacked him. And all the while the grin of battle lust never left his face.

She wasn't enough.

Unfortunately, due to her haste, Lucy failed to notice when yet another root erupted from the ground to entangle her mangled leg. However, this time Azuma didn't bother to detonate the growth, instead opting to use the magically enhanced plant life to toss Lucy into a nearby stone outcropping. The blonde striking the rock with enough force to shatter it and leave a trail of blood dripping from her lips.

She wouldn't make it.

Screaming in frustration, Lucy gathered as much of her magic that she could into an arrow, the pale bolt easily eclipsing the bow from which it was formed for a brief second before she unleashed it. However, Azuma's smirk only grew at the sight of her attack and in the next moment the entirety of the leaves in the surrounding forest ripped themselves from their branches to speed into the arrow. Their combined force enough to force her pale arrow off of its trajectory and into the nearby creek. The resulting steam explosion sending a cloud of white mist across the battlefield.

There wasn't enough time.

"What's wrong Elvish Sniper? You only have three minutes left! Surely you don't intend to let your comrades die?" Azuma taunted as he once again pointed his palm in Lucy's direction, a swarm of palm tree branches appearing from nowhere to slash at her. " **Burst Claw!** " He shouted, the newly created plant blades slicing into the helpless blonde, leaving a multitude of deep crimson cuts across her body.

They were going to die. She was going to lose everyone all over again.

Lucy knew, she knew that no matter what she did, no matter what elemental she summoned, she just didn't have enough Ethernano to win this fight within the time limit…at least, she didn't at the moment. The only way for her to win, the only way to save her family, was if she could feed off of the residual Ethernano in the air…and there was only one way to do that.

But could she? Could she betray the oath she had taken above all others? Could she betray the real Lucy in such a way? Betray Fairy Tail? Could she even control it?

Would she still even be herself when it was undone?

"Lucy! Don't worry about us! Just kick this guy's butt!" Lisanna shouted from behind Lucy, the blonde turning to stare at the two trapped mages and the one exhausted one with wide, terrified eyes.

"You can do it Lucy! I know you can!" Wendy added, the young slayer not looking even the least bit worried about her predicament.

"Fight Lucy! Master believed that you have the potential to be an S-class wizard, one of the strongest of Fairy Tail, so don't let him prove you wrong!" Mira encouraged, the exhausted and beaten woman still smiling up at the barely standing blonde.

Lucy turned back to her opponent to see Azuma seemingly studying her, the dark mage not having taken the opportunity to attack while her back was turned. He wanted a fight, a fight against a being that Lucy was terrified of becoming again, and he wouldn't back down until he had gotten it.

And so, with one last shaky breath, Lucy made her decision.

"… Ifrit!" The blonde screamed with all the determination she could muster, the lord of all fire only taking a second to respond in kind.

She couldn't summon him fully, not with how drained she was, but even the faint outline of the lord of fire was enough to send the temperature in their surroundings skyrocketing. The fire elemental turned slowly, his eyes focused solely on his summoner, his gaze silently questioning her determination.

A determination that Lucy showed by meeting his gaze with one of her own. And while there was a great deal of fear in her eyes, there was also a resolution that the lord of fire could not deny. She was prepared, for whatever came next.

"…Please." Was all she said, the same word she had uttered the last time she had summoned the Elemental. And with that single word the decision was made.

Ifrit turned his head to the sky and roared, a roar that shook the gathered mages to their very bones with its intensity, before releasing a plume of white-hot flames from his mouth. The flames snaked though the air, almost as if they had a will of their own, before turning down upon the Elemental summoner and seemingly impaling her in the chest, the smell of burning flesh immediately filling the clearing.

Mira cried out in shock, afraid for the blonde's safety, but just as quickly realized where exactly the flames had struck; the strange seal that had been carved into the blonde's chest, the seal that was in the form of a roaring dragon. And if the barmaid could see the seal, she would have seen the dragon glowing with the same white-hot intensity as the flames that now coated it before it began to fade away.

And just as fast as it had all occurred, the deed was done. Ifrit, having completed his request, faded back to his plane, leaving a tense silence in his wake. No one moved, not the dark mage who had started the fight, nor the fairy who had just released her seal. No one moved, or breathed, as they waited for what would happen next.

And then it started. At first it was just a single blue spark. A random arc of pure Ethernano passing across her body. But almost as if a dam had been released the single spark quickly turned into a literal storm of pure energy as it engulfed the blonde mage.

Lucy couldn't help but cry in agony as her body immediately began to adapt to the new power now flowing though her veins. She could feel her canines begin to grow longer, the fangs she had once had returning even sharper than before. She could feel her nails begin to grow sharper and longer, a far cry from the talons that her mother had once had but still very different from what she had had only moments ago. She could feel an intense pressure on the sides of her head, the blonde knowing that her horns were beginning to form, the wet squelching noise only confirming her suspicions.

But the most noticeable change, one that only Azuma could see at that moment, was her eyes. Her pupils elongating vertically and filled with a yet unseen fury.

And just as quick as the storm began, it faded, leaving the air pulsing with pure Ethernano.

"…L-Lucy?" Wendy couldn't help but call out, the young mages voice filled with both fear and trepidation at what she had just seen. But the blonde didn't answer her, instead focusing the entirety of her anger on the foe before her.

_No, not foe…prey._ Lucy thought as she reared her head back and roared, a wave of chaotic energy pulsing away from her body.

* * *

Miles and miles away, in a mountain range that's name had been lost to time, a creature of immense size stirred slightly, its massive, cloudy eyes slowly opening as it turned its attention to the mouth of its cave. That roar…it knew that roar. It was a sound that he had heard millions of times during his training. The roar of that detestable creature.

And so Acnologia rose to its full, intimidating height as it stretched its wings, its mouth parting slightly as it rumbled out a single word. A word that carried with it all the fury he had nearly forgotten.

"…Tiamat."

**So...that took awhile to write. Honestly, I'm still not that satisfied with this chapter. But i need to put out something so here it is**


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